As Her Heart Beats
by Cluny the Warlord 1992
Summary: A vampire AU. After a night jogging in the park, young Cypress has a run-in with a creature he had only read about in books. The events that take place afterward change his perspective on his already broken life and begins to change as a young man. (Melting the Ice sub-AU) -Chapter 9 Now Up-
1. The First Night

**So, I decided to make an alternate AU for my AU MtI. It's going to be a bit different. Yeah, I'm taking the *shudders in disgust* Twilight vampire love story route… but I'll steer the story more in the direction of a real vampire romance that I could stomach, John Lindqvist's cult classic Let the Right One In. You'll be getting this story updated every month or so on the first Thursday. Now then, without further ado, I present As Her Heart Beats.**

* * *

The city of Vale was known for one thing, it had a large part of the inner city that had fallen into a state of disrepair. A number of people wanted it demolished twenty years prior, but the mayor and city council members moved to keep it as it was and let nature reclaim it. After months of neglect, it started to look like a picturesque deciduous forest. Since that event, the center of the city was closed off and it would remain that was for one hundred fifty years, in accordance to a restoration act. Although, the action did do two things, it improved the city's air and water quality, but only slightly. There were, however, reports of something living in the restricted zone of the city. No one knew what it was. And even stranger, the sporadic reports only took place at night. At that is where our tale begins.

* * *

It was a calm and peaceful night. The moon shown bright overhead, the early Autumn air was crisp yet comfortable. The streets of Vale City were empty aside from a few people out on the streets. Perfect conditions for a little late night jog.

In the city park, a young boy in navy blue sweat pants and a bright orange hoodie jogged the twisting paths. His strawberry blonde hair flowed in the night air. His light green eyes remained trained on the path in front of him. The boy's name was Cypress, but his friends called him Cy. He had a good number of people who cared about him, but he was mostly alone outside of school. Two years ago to the day, his widowed father had been lost in a tragic accident. The only person he had left to care for him was his older sister, Ivy. The only reason he was out so late was because Ivy was two towns over on a business trip. These nights happened almost every other week, but they didn't bother Cy that much.

The park Cy was jogging in was on the edge of this part of the city. He'd jogged half way through the park and came to a fork in the sidewalk. The fork on the left went toward his home while the fork on the right went into the inner city. It was still early in the evening, and Cy's curiosity had finally gotten the better of him. There was a three mile stretch that met at the East entrance of the park, and Cy had taken that route in the mornings as the sun was rising, but never at night. He turned onto the left fork and took out a head lamp from the pocket of his hoodie. He turned it on a low light setting so his eyes could adjust.

The sidewalk in front of him grew darker. As he drew closer to what had been the North entrance to the park, he felt the air around him getting colder. The night rendition of this jogging route felt like a total opposite of the morning rendition. Not because it was darker than in the day, Cy was eleven and loved the dark. But, he felt like he was being watched, no, followed.

Cy was jogging half way down the darkened sidewalk. The light on his head lamp shorted out, not a good sign. He let his eyes adjust to the shadows and dappled pale streams of blue moonlight. But his ears picked up on something, the sound of someone behind him. There were the subtle sounds of bare feet hitting the pavement at a rapid pace. He hastened his pace. The footsteps' pace hastened with him. Not wanting to be attacked by a local thug, Cy broke into a run. The footsteps behind him… hastened to a sprint. Suddenly, he was jumped from behind. He wheeled around and kicked the cloaked figure in the stomach and sprinted as he tried to get away. The figure behind him got up and rocketed toward the young boy. He jumped onto a wall and ran along the narrow ledge as fast as could. But he looked behind himself and saw nothing. As he turned around and was knocked off the wall, both parties were sent tumbling onto the grass. Cy's attacker made sure to keep themselves on top and pinned the boy's arms to the ground and straddled his waist.

Cy struggled to get free, but the figure was too strong. The force holding him down was inhuman. "Why," He heard the figure ask in a raspy voice, "Why are you out so late in _my_ territory?"

Cy looked up into the silver, red-rimmed, eyes of his aggressor. They mystified him to no end, but what caught his attention more was the question asked of him. This figure didn't use home, like a battered and disheveled vagrant in the local shanty towns and back-allies. No, they said territory, as if separating it via a primal boundary system. No one in their right mind used that to describe their home, not for the last two centuries or so. "Answer my question, trespasser," The figure questioned accusingly, "What are you doing, coming into _my_ territory in the middle of the night? I won't give you the luxury of asking a third time."

Cypress steeled his resolve and stood his ground. If he was going to get out of this alive, telling the truth was the only thing that made sense. He swallowed, "I was out for a jog and decided to take a longer route." He said, "I was going to follow this path all the way to the gate on the east end of the park."

The eyes above him narrowed as they slowly shifted toward the eastern end of the park. Their gaze shifted back to Cy's light green eyes, "How am I sure you're not lying to me?" They asked.

"Because I jogged this route in broad daylight before, at least half a dozen times," Cypress stated, "These days when I'm not studying myself into a headache for my classes at Signal Middle School, on the North end of Vale, I'm out jogging or over at the rec center swimming or something. This just happens to be one of my favorite routes. I just wanted to see what it was like at night."

The figure examined the boy carefully for any signs of trickery, they saw none. "Alright," They said, "I can see that you're telling the truth."

"Of course I'm telling the truth," Cypress protested, "I suck at lying. Everyone in Vale knows that."

"I'm not everyone in Vale," The figure said, "so forgive me if I don't take the word of a trespasser at face value."

"Alright," Cypress said, "you've got me dead to rights on that note. Now, could you please get off of me so I can get out of your hair?"

"If you promise never to come here again," The figure said easing off their grip on the boy's wrists.

Cy used his wit to turn the scales in his favor, nothing was going to remove him from a favorite jogging spot. "What's to stop me from coming her in the morning or the heat of the summer afternoons?" He asked confidently.

The figure froze, but only for a moment, "You said you were going, right?" They asked removing their hands from the boy's.

As they pulled their hands back, Cy rushed and grabbed hold of theirs, "Oh no, I'm not letting you off the hook without answering my question."

The figure growled, "I don't have to answer to the like of a human whelp like you." They hissed.

That reply struck Cy as odd. The use of such terminology suggested that the aggressor wasn't human. Cy took a moment to examine the figure above him. Then he found what he was looking for, their teeth. To the untrained eye, they looked normal. But the canines differed from those of a normal human being. "What does a vampire like you have to lose from answering an innocent question like mine?" He asked confidently.

The figure's eyes widened, "You know?" they asked.

"I can see the fangs pretty well in the dark," Cy said, "Now are you…" In the blink of an eye, the figure effortlessly yanked their hands free, rose to their feet and ran back into the forest.

Cypress got up and dusted himself off, "So," He huffed, "the inner-city jungle has a vampire, huh?" He turned and walked back to the path. When he got on the sidewalk again, he looked back over his shoulder at the massive forest. He felt a smile start to form on his face, "That's actually pretty cool. I hope they have a good night." He continued his jog down the sidewalk.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Cy, the vampire wasn't done following him. They crept behind him, being careful not to go into the lights of the street lamps in the park. But they stopped when they saw the boy leave the park. They were glad to see him go, but something felt… upsetting. They didn't like trespassers, but they also detested the loneliness of the forest in the inner-city.

The vampire felt something in their chest. It was like a small drum beat that appeared in an instant and left as soon as it had come. They looked around the park, not a human in sight. It wasn't some sort of trickery, no it was something else. They thought back to the days of old the last time they felt this sensation in their chest. A grand total of one thousand years, they realized it was their heart beat. But what made it beat again after so agonizingly long? Was it that boy? Or was it something else?

A growl in the vampire's stomach cut their train of thought. They'd forgotten to feed on the boy when they caught him. They'd wanted some manner of sport, but the shock of the boy finding the silver-eyed being's identity made them fear away for their life. Now they'd need to leave their territory, and they knew exactly how to get their share of the sweet crimson nectar they craved.

* * *

Cy had gotten home to his older sister's apartment in the southern end of Vale and gotten ready for bed. He laid down in his bed and looked out toward the inner-city jungle. He couldn't get that vampire's silver eyes out of his mind. A sound like a stomach growling caught his attention. He turned to see a cloaked figure hanging onto the wall and clutching their stomach. They were whimpering like the hunger pangs were driving them crazy. "Hey," Cy asked, "are you okay?"

The figure looked at him, "You," it said.

Cy recognized the gruff voice, but he didn't like seeing the suffering in the figure's silver eyes. "Would you like to come in out of the cold?"

The cloaked figure made their way in through Cypress' window and swiftly pinned him to his bed. "Our conversation earlier, interrupted my meal." The figure said. Before they could make their move, they were hit by a debilitating hunger pang.

Cy watched as the vampire in front of him curled into a ball. Cy couldn't believe what he was going to do. He took his index finger and nipped it with his canines. He winced as he squeezed out a little blood and offered it up to the figure, "I know this is what you came here for." He said, "If you want it that badly, I'm only going to offer a little. I may be young, but I'm not getting bitten tonight."

The figure stared at the crimson fluid being offered to them, "Why are you offering me blood? Hoping I'll be your pet or something as deranged as that?" They asked accusingly.

Cy shook his head, "I've seen enough suffering in my life," he said, "I'm not going to sit by and watch a creature, undead or otherwise, suffer in front of me. Now please hurry up and have your fill, it's not like I do this every day."

The growling of the vampire's stomach got to them. They hadn't fed in weeks, and it wasn't like they could turn down this offering in their state. They grabbed the boy's wrist and sucked his finger. They sighed in satisfaction, something about blood that had been offered to them made the metallic taste of the crimson fluid almost like sweet honey. It'd been a long time since anyone had offered their blood to them. The memory brought tears to their eyes. When they were satisfied, they let their arms fall to their sides as they tilted their head back and let the hood of their cloak fall to their shoulders.

Cypress gave an inaudible gasp. Sitting on his bed in front of him was a young female vampire. He guessed that she couldn't have been more than a few years older than him. But he remembered reading something, a particularly nauseating vampire saga put out a few years prior that vampires didn't age from the point that they were bitten. Though he'd also remembered that in Braham Stoker's Dracula, that the vampire affliction extended the life span of those bitten and that some vampires were powerful enough to alter their appearance to keep from drawing attention to themselves. But those were all fiction, this was a shocking jolt of reality. "Thank you." The girl in front of him said in a less gruff voice.

The voice snapped Cypress out of his puzzled state, "What?" He asked.

The silver-eyed girl sighed, "I said thank you," She repeated.

"Oh," Cy chuckled, "You're welcome."

The vampire stood up and put their hood back over their head, "Tell no one about what you saw tonight," She said as she climbed out through the window and hung from the sill, "or the next time we meet, I won't hesitate to silence you before we part ways."

Cy nodded and swiped his finger over his heart, "I won't tell a soul, I promise." He said.

The girl narrowed her narrowed her eyes and turn to leap down to the alley below and took off back to the park and her forest.

Cypress looked down to his finger, it was starting to close up, but he knew Ivy would kill him if she found a drop of blood on his bed sheets. He went into the hallway bathroom, grabbed a band-aid and the tube of ointment and quickly bandaged his finger. He sighed as he remembered the experience from only a few minutes ago. "Man, what a crazy night," He said, "First a vampire ambushes me in the park, and the next thing I know, she pays a visit out of hunger and threatens to kill me if I tell anyone." Did someone place a curse on me or something?"

He walked back into his room, littered with posters, a few handheld gaming consoles and books, and the odd stacks of graph paper he and his circle of friends played Dungeons and Dragons with every other week. He crawled into bed and stared at his ceiling, sighing before going to sleep, "I wonder if I'll see her again," He asked as his eyes closed.


	2. Entering Her Den

Signal Middle School, a school that catered to everyone; it didn't matter if your parents were millionaires, or if you were lower class living in the shanty towns on Vale's eastern outskirts, this school was one of the best in the county of Sanus. It was nothing compared to Citadel High School over in the west side of the city, and both paled in comparison to Beacon University – one of the country's most prestigious schools famed for its science and cultural studies departments.

The students at Signal Middle School were like any other, dividing themselves into the normal social cliques. Jocks, Mathletes, Preps, Goths, Drama Groupies, Cheerleaders, etc. were present. But, there was one clique that Cypress prided himself in being part of, the Multi-facets – students who fit into more than one category. Cypress was a member of the Cross-country and Track and Field teams as a distance runner, a member of the Chess Club, and a Mathlete. The latter two were mostly because of his Dungeons and Dragons scenarios and dungeon setups. He was also a Drama Club member, but only signed up to be the understudy for lesser roles. He was notorious for freezing in front of large crowds, something his friends were trying to cure him of.

His best friends at Signal included a Goth/Cheerleader named Luna L'Amour who was two years Cy's senior, the Scholastic Decathlon Team Co-captain/Chess Club Captain Winter Schnee II one year older than Cy, and a Jock/Drama Club member name Azure Aquio who had been one of Cy's closest friends since they were kids in the sandbox. The four were very close, and formed a tight knit group amongst most of the student cliques.

To say Cypress was without opposition in the school would be going a bridge too far. He was one of the more liked unifying students at Signal Middle, but there were students who were despicable toward him no matter how many times he defended himself. Two of the worst were a pair of self-entitled queens of the school, Melanie and Miltiades Malachite. They were eighth graders who saw the pleasure of stomping all over the lower grade students. But the one thing that agitated them to no end, was that Cy and his friends were nigh unbreakable. Cy and company took great enjoyment at this factor and would enjoy it for as long as they were together.

* * *

Miss Nikos' Math class was where the young boy felt the most at home. It was his last period of the day, and by far his favorite. The bell just rang for class to begin, and all looked to the front of the room to see the redhead genius and affectionately entitled math goddess, Miss Pyrrha Nikos. "Hello everyone~," She greeted her students.

"Hello, Miss Nikos," The class stated in unison.

"I hope we all have our assignments ready to hand in," Pyrrha said, "Cypress, would you do the honors?"

"Yes ma'am," Cy said. His exceptional grades had elevated him to the star pupil of the class and made him the main source of annoyance for Melanie Malachite, who was undergoing her third round of the class. He stood up from his desk and began collecting the assignments from his classmates who all had finished their papers. That's when he came upon Melanie's desk, blank as the Kansas flatlands, "You didn't do it, did you Melanie?" he asked flatly.

"Psh," Melanie scoffed, "As if I would waste my time with a bunch of dumb numbers. Math will never come in handy for what I have planned for my future."

"And what that be," Azure asked from over next to Cy's seat.

"None of your business dork." Melanie replied spitefully.

Azure made a move to stand up, but Cy raised his hand to stop him, "She's not worth it, Azure," He said.

"What. Ever." Melanie scoffed.

Cy walked up to Pyrrha's desk and placed the papers in front of her. "Alright class," The redhead said as she addressed her students, "please open your books to page seventy three and take out your notebooks. It's time for today's lesson."

The class period went by without a hitch. They started out with 15 minutes of notes dappled with question and answer sessions here and there. Then Miss Nikos gave them a bit of class work. As was the usual, Cypress and Azure teamed up. Pyrrha looked at the boys and then to Melanie, "Miss Malachite," She said evoking a silent blink from the girl in white and faded mint, "I would like you to work with Cypress and Azure."

"Oh," Cy started in a whispered tone.

"Crap," Azure finished in the same tone.

"Boys," Pyrrha said turning back to them, "if it weren't for the fact that you two have the two highest grade point averages in the class…"

"Actually, ma'am," A girl student in the back named Rosette interjected, "Azure has the highest GPA in the class, and Cy has the highest GPA in the school."

Pyrrha blinked and remembered looking at the charts earlier in the school day. As it turned out, Rosette was correct. Out of all the students in the school, Azure held the highest average out of the last period class and Cy held the highest average in all of the sixth grade math classes overall. "That's correct," The redhead said, "thank you for pointing that out, Rosette." She cleared her throat, "But my point is, I'd like you to attempt to get Melanie to finish at least one assignment in class."

"And yet, I never thought I'd see that I'd be cursing myself for my arithmetical prowess." Cy slumped in his seat.

"Don't sweat it, Cy," Azure whispered, "at least we don't have to deal with the other sister at the same time." Cy took some relief in that fact. Melanie and Miltia were identical twins, yes. But, they differed in intellectual prowess. Melanie had a strong front as a member of the Girls' Soccer team, and Martial Arts team while Miltia was Captain of the Cheerleading Squad and Vice-Captain of the Girls' Volleyball team. Melanie was also a member of the recently started Improv Club and excelled in creating stories on the fly, but her calculative brain faltered as a consequence. Miltiades on the other hand had the strength of sharp mental arithmetic skills which she flaunted every time the Cheer Squad took the field during a football game or a cheer competition with perfect forms and angles of body position.

Melanie swapped seats with the student who sat behind Cy and the two boys angled their desks so they could flank Melanie. They got out scratch paper and got to work. As they were writing, Azure noticed Cy's bandaged finger, "What happened to your finger," He asked.

Cy didn't even look up from his work, "Paper cut."

Melanie rolled her eyes, "Not surprised."

"Happens all the time with me," Cy said as he started on his third equation. He and Azure took glances to Melanie's paper. The brunette was still stuck on the first problem. "You know, asking math geeks for help isn't gonna kill you." He said as he started his fifth problem.

Melanie looked to see that both boys had a second sheet of paper out with their math strategies hard at work. "How are you dorks so good at this stuff?" She asked irately in a hushed tone.

"Dungeons and Dragons," Azure said as his pencil tacked away at his fifth problem, "but I help my family with their financial business. We mostly sell produce and things like that, but we also run the restaurant next door."

"I'm more into using chess strategies, time management, and distances," Cy said as he began his eighth problem and stopped, "Need any help?"

Melanie looked at the boy's paper. The numbers all looked like a disgruntled mass to her, "Uh, sure," she said cautiously.

"Alright then," Cy said as he began talking her through the equation in front of her. It didn't make sense to him how the girl could have made it through to the sixth grade and got stuck in the same math class for three years. He'd only heard about this kind of situation from Winter. It involved a patient with a mental disorder that made math nearly impossible, although he had a perfect sense of rhythm. The boy was taught how to think of himself at his drums at home and tap out a rhythm to keep him focused and practice thinking of the numbers in terms of drum measures on sheet music. Using this and his knowledge of Melanie's reputation in extracurricular activities to commence a trial run of getting Melanie help with her math skills. "Okay, think of yourself in a martial arts tournament," The boy began, "your team has this as its overall score," he pointed to the top score, "but the score of the other team is one third higher than your score. This problem is one where you need to find the score of your opponent's team."

"Like, how the heck am I supposed to find that out?" Melanie asked.

"Take your team's score and divide it by three," Azure said giving Melanie an extra sheet of paper. Melanie took the paper and rewrote the equation on the paper. He even lent her his calculator, "Give it back before the end of class." He said as she entered the equation into the calculator, "Don't press the equal sign until you've found the answer." He watched as Melanie worked the problem out and when she finished it, she hit the solve button on the calculator. Much to her delight, it matched perfectly. "That's step one out of the way." Azure said.

"Now take that number and add it to your team's score." Cy said.

Melanie added the number's to the best of her ability on her second sheet of paper and typed it into the calculator. She was also happy to see that two of her least favorite people in the city of Vale were, dare she admit it, useful for something. "By no means does this change things between me, my sister, and you dorks and the other two." She said coldly.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Cy said quietly.

"What was that," Melanie shot the boy a sideways glare.

"Loud and clear," Cy said with a smirk.

"I thought so," Melanie said as she moved onto the next problem.

The rest of the class went by with the boys helping Melanie with her work. Cy finished first and helped Melanie with the rest of the questions in the section they were assigned, twenty equations in all. The three of them turned in their classwork at the same time. "Well done you two," Pyrrha smiled, "And well done, Miss Malachite. Take what these two taught you and you may be seeing yourself in the remedial math class at Citadel High next year."

Melanie looked to the two sixth graders, "Since you two helped me, I'll, like, tone myself down if you'll help me pass this class. Do we have a deal?"

Cy and Azure shot each other a glance of uncertainty, "And there's no catch?" Azure asked.

"My dad's, like, been on my case since I failed this class two years ago," Melanie groaned, "if you help me pass this class, it'll be one less pain I have to deal with. So I'll give you two, like, a pass, or whatever, as long as we're here for the rest of the year."

"Sounds like you're really out of options," Cy said with a raised eyebrow, "especially if you're willing to come to us for help with your school work."

"I really have, like, no other options." Melanie said, "If I don't pass this class, my dad said he's, like totally, gonna send me to some lame-o girls school in another state."

Cy and Azure were shocked. On one hand they'd be dealing with only one Malachite twin in high school. On the other hand, they knew if Miltiades found out they'd turned down a plea for help that she'd hold it over their heads until well into their adult years. "Looks like you've got a deal, Malachite." Azure said.

"I'm glad you two are willing to put some petty squabbles aside to help another student," Pyrrha said as the final bell rang, "Class, I want you to finish up the rest of those problems for homework tonight, have a good weekend."

Cy looked at Melanie, "Truce is over until Tuesday, I guess," He said.

"Whatever, loser," The girl turned her nose, sauntered off to her desk, picked up her bag and headed out the door and headed to her locker.

"Fun while it lasted, yeah?" Cy said.

"It was," Azure said, "Well I gotta get home. I'll see you tomorrow night, Cy."

"See ya later, Azure," Cy said.

* * *

One bus ride to his sister's apartment later, Cy looked up what the next few days were going to be like. "Hmm, cold and rainy the next few days, huh," He looked out toward the inner-city jungle, "I think she'll need something to help keep her warm in if it's going to be like that."

He set to work gathering a couple of his old blankets that his sister had wanted to donate to someone who needed them more. Because of her schedule, however, that hadn't been done. "Let's see, she'll need something else," He said rummaging through his closet picking up old things that he hadn't worn in a while, "Ah, these will do nicely." He'd put together at least a week's worth of clothes. They were certainly warm enough to last through the cold days approaching Vale. He looked back out the window and saw the sun was slowly approaching the horizon, "I need to go now if I'm gonna have a chance of finding her again, before she finds me."

He put all the things in an old luggage bag and tied an old length of rope around it like a backpack harness. He then walked outside and jogged off in the direction of the park and inner-city jungle. "I gotta get there and make it back before it gets dark." He said to himself. He jogged down the path he'd taken the night before, he looked to the sky. It was still blue, but it was starting to go orange, "Less than an hour and a half, okay here goes everything."

He ran down the path heading toward the inner-city jungle and got to the creek that divided the dense forest from the rest of the park. He stopped and looked at the water flowing beneath the old bridge, "She must have gotten out East of here," Cy whispered, "vampires can't cross running water." He walked across the old bridge and continued walking down the path. He looked around as he passed the old north gate that hadn't been used since the closing down of the inner-city. Since then, the inner city had been surrounded by the park as the Vale City council approved to expand the park to encircle the area around the jungle as a whole.

Cy looked the trees that had grown through the old buildings. The inner-city had been encouraged and tended to every other month for the first ten years until the Mayor and other members of the City Council deemed it necessary to let nature to do the rest. Cy read up on this part of the city many times and was enthralled by the amount of work that had been put into such a monumental project. The trees lining the city streets had grown tall and lush over the years. Cy remembered reading that the paved roads and sidewalks had been torn out in the first year and seeded with grass seed and flowers. Apiaries from bee farmers in surrounding towns were placed in what was once the central park to keep the flowers pollenated. The deer in the inner-city were controlled and relocated every two years, along with rabbits and smaller fauna. Feral cats from the outer city eventually made their way to the inner-city jungle and began feeding on rats and squirrels.

Cypress looked to the old parking structures and heard the chittering of a huge family of bats, "No wonder the bug population around the city has decreased so much over the past few years." He looked up into the older office buildings and heard a large number of birds chirping, as well as the hooting of owls beginning to ready themselves for the night. "This place really is a jungle." He said in awe.

Cy turned down a street and saw what he'd come seeking, an old house with wear and tear matching what Cy was looking for. It couldn't have been more than fifty years old, and yet it at first glance, it looked like it was brand new. "Wonder if it looks this nice on the inside." He quickly walked up to it, the paint on the outside of the building looked like it had been applied within the last month or so. He looked to see old cans of paint sitting under the porch, Midnight, Snowfall White, Golden Sun, and Ruby Red. Cy took a look at the cans and then to the two-story house in front of him. Midnight paint covered the underside of the awning over the Snowfall White porch. The same shade of white was used on the outer walls while the shudders were Golden Sun. All that tied the house together was the Ruby Rose colored door. "Interesting color choice," Cy said as he walked onto the porch and approached the door. He slowly turned the knob, _Vampires have acute senses of smell and hearing, better be quick and quiet about this._

He slowly opened the door and lightly stepped in and made his way up the surprisingly well maintained stairs. He took note that the windows were shaded, _Looks like the Twilight books got that wrong, high photosensitivity and aversion to sunlight means Bram Stoker knew his stuff about the lore._ When he got to the top of the stairs, he noticed one of the doors at the end of the hall was opened. He crept to the end of the hallway and slipped through the door. There, in a rather immaculate bed with an old blanket covering her, was the vampire. She was sleeping peacefully clutching the blanket she'd draped over her, _Chalk one up for Mr. Lindqvist._ Cy thought to himself. He carefully removed the bag from his back and set it on the floor. He removed the rope from the bag and set it on the floor. Now came the zipper on the bag. The noise of the unzipping of the bad would be problematic. He listened to the vampire's relaxed breathing. That would be his indicator as to how he'd proceed.

Cy carefully grasped the zipper, and gently tugged it across the length of the bag. Before he could continue, he felt a slender pair of arms snake under around his torso. He gave a hard swallow, "I'm dead, aren't I?" He asked.

"That depends," The vampire said resting her head on his shoulder, "Why are you here?"

Cy opened the bag, "I read that it was going to get really cold over the next few days," He said, "and from what I saw, you could use something better, and maybe a few mote sets of clothes."

The vampire looked at the clothes and the blankets in the bag, "Why are you giving me these things?" She asked moving her hand to Cy's cheek.

"I-I-I'm just trying t-t-to be n-nice." Cy stammered. The pale girl turned Cy's head to face her.

"Why?" The vampire asked.

"L-like I s-said l-l-last night," Cy said, "I d-don't like seeing people s-suffer."

The vampire looked at the boy and then back to the bag. She had wanted to look for new blankets to keep herself warm for the winter, but she'd never been able to find anything that hadn't been worn out and lending anything more than a few short hours of comfort. Then she took note of the clothes in the bag, they looked gently used and warmer than the worn out old clothing she had when she'd come into the house in the first place. These gifts weren't something she'd often been presented with. "What do you want in return for these?" She inquired.


	3. Game Night - Part 1

The vampire's inquiry rang in Cy's ear, "What do you want in return for these?" What was it the boy wanted more than anything? The one thing he could think of was seeing his sister, Ivy, when she got home the next evening.

"Um," Cy mumbled, "th-there i-is one thing."

The vampire girl gently moved her hands to cross Cy's chest and gently grasp his shoulders, "What would that be?" She whispered in his ear.

"W-well…" Cy swallowed, "my sister… she's been out of town the last three days, o-on a business t-t-trip in the city of V-Vacuo. I k-kinda m-miss her, y-ya know?"

The vampire's expression softened a little, "You have a sister?" She inquired, "Any other siblings?"

"Two brothers and a baby sister," Cy said with a tear rolling down his cheek, "all dead, along with both of my parents."

The vampire raised an eyebrow, "What a tragedy," She said, "If I were still human, I'd actually feel something – perhaps an iota of sympathy – but alas, I haven't had any emotion bits of thought in the last century and a half."

The words were cold and Cy huffed, "So I guess you're going to kill me, keep the things I'm giving you out of empathy for being virtually alone, and risk my sister calling out an all-points bulletin and amber alert to find me thus putting your existence on the line? You'd be killing yourself if you killed me, just my amateur opinion."

"What makes you think anyone would come looking for you here?" The vampire asked.

"My sister's got connections with the country's top medical personnel," Cy replied, "She, herself, is a doctor with several eyes from the country's top medical facilities looking into her work. If something were to happen to her only surviving sibling, don't think she wouldn't pour every cent she has to her name into tracking me down."

The vampire pondered her decision for a moment. On one hand, she'd be able to once again taste the honey sweet blood that coursed through this young boy's veins. On the other, doing so would mean she'd need to move again in the bitter and unforgiving cold of the impending winter. She admittedly hated the cold. The hood and cape she had was barely keeping her above freezing in spite of how well maintained she'd kept the house she'd been living in since the inner-city had been shut down and left to the mercy of Mother Nature. She didn't want to run the risk of a tantalizing morsel like this boy escaping her, but there was still the mysterious sensation she'd felt in her chest the night before when she'd first let this boy go. This phenomenon had to have an answer, she just needed to find it. "Very well," She sighed finally, "I'll let you go… But…"

"What," Cy asked.

"I need you to promise me one thing," The vampire said.

"Um, okay," Cy stammered as every nerve ending in his body crackled like a brush fire, "Wh-what is it?"

The girl held a finger to Cy's nose, "Promise me that you're not going to tell anyone about this place."

"I swear, I won't tell a soul unless you approve it," Cy said crossing his hand over his heart.

The girl looked at him, the predatory fire had softened into a sort of juvenile curiosity, "And for that, if you need to get rid of more clothes or bed sheets and stuff…" She smiled slightly, "… well, I'm not going anywhere."

"I-I'll remember that," Cy said.

"Ruby," The girl said. Cy raised an eyebrow, "My name is Ruby."

"I-I'm Cypress," He said, "but my friends… and these two witchy girls two years older than me, call me Cy."

Ruby moved to sit cross-legged in front of this fascinating boy whom she'd only now introduced herself to. She sat there with her elbows on her knees and her chin on the tops of her hands, "You're a very perplexing young boy, Cypress," She said.

"What makes you say that," Cy asked.

Ruby gave a look that screamed _Is this boy joking?_ "Where do I begin," She asked, "How about we start with the fact that you let me in your bedroom last night? No one with common sense does that."

"Maybe I wanted to do something different," Cy countered with a smirk.

"Really?" Ruby asked with a less than amused look on her face, "Well try this logic bomb on for size. What fool comes to said vampire's dwelling after said vampire said to stay away from her territory?"

Cy's face wilted, "A fool who knows what it's like to be stuck out alone and cold in the middle of the rain." He said in a near dead voice.

Ruby's face softened again, "What do you mean?" She inquired.

Cy closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose and let out a shaky sigh, "I'd rather not talk about…," He said with tears running down his cheeks, "… that night in the rain. I can't… not now," He swallowed hard, "Please don't force me to."

Ruby's eyes softened to that of a tone of sympathy, "No need to tell me," She said, "I already understand. I understand more than you know."

Cy smiled, "Thanks," he said, "I'll be going now before it gets too dark."

Ruby got to her feet, "Wait a moment," She said, "I'll walk you home."

Cy blushed, "Uh, o-okay."

"Don't get bashful on me," Ruby said flatly, "it's a thank you for the clothes and bed sheets, nothing more." She closed the door and removed her cloak and the clothes she'd pilfered on the eastern end of the city near a large shanty town and rummaged through the clothes that Cy had brought. She picked out a plain black t-shirt, a pair of black pants, and a black and red flannel shirt. She'd had hand-me-down clothes before, but they were always worn thin and smelled horrible. These felt different, they felt soft and warm against her skin. She sniffed the shirt, it smelled of cotton rather than stale perspiration and other bodily fluids. She hugged herself and shimmied in the bliss of the moment, moaning at the feeling of warmth blanketing her body. A sudden contraction from her formerly dead heart pulled her from her blissful day dream. She looked at the door, "Qualis est iste?" She said to herself in her native Latin, "Cur me tale monstrum misericordiam exhibere?" She looked down to her cloak, tattered and worn. It was the last thing she had of her home, her earliest memories from one hundred lifetimes ago, she knelt down and picked it up, "Fatendum enim est similis tui, huh?"

* * *

Cy and Ruby walked through the moonlight forest and into the park. The boy looked at his reluctant companion, Ruby. She looked back at him as if she only half cared about his gesture of kindness. "You know, staring at me isn't going to help you figure out what you want to know, Ruby," Cy said.

"You make it sound like you're an easy book to read," The silver-eyed girl muttered, "But, I'll have you know, I've read entire libraries in this extended lifetime of mine. You're more difficult to understand than the most random and badly written manga."

"Yeah, I…" Cy paused but kept walking, "wait, you read manga?"

Ruby blushed, "I pretty much read a majority of the world's published works and then, one night I wandered into this book store over on the west end of Vale. That's when I found myself reading a well-drawn comic book thing that backwards, boy did I look silly doing that. This older guy looks over and said 'first time reading a manga, huh?' and then he says, 'Gotta read it in the opposite direction. Weird, I know, but you get used to it.' He offered me a muffin to eat while I read." Cy raised an eyebrow for the umpteenth time, "I didn't eat it," Ruby stated, "I pretended to space out until he left."

Cy smiled, "I guess Umbra said he'd see you later."

"Yeah, he…" Ruby's eyes widened, "… how did you…"

"The guy's known for hanging out at the local bookshop's Manga section, offering muffins," Cy replied with a smirk, "He and I met the same way in the RPG section, and sense then we've been playing Dungeons and Dragons in my living room every other Saturday night."

Ruby snorted and laughed, "You play D and D?" She asked, "I thought were strange before, but this takes the cake."

"You read the books on it before, didn't you?" Cy asked.

"So what if I did?" Ruby asked, "It's not like I'm going to get a chance to play it anyway."

"You have Umbra, his friends, and I," Cy said, "We're always trying to find other people to join in on our story."

Ruby shook her head, "I don't think I trust you enough to take you up on that offer yet."

"Then we'll just have to wait before giving that a shot?" Cy asked.

"I never said…" Ruby started.

"You said yet," Cy rebutted, "Meaning the possibility exists."

Ruby turned her head away from it and cursed under her breath, "I swear, you humans are all alike," She grumbled.

"You have no idea how wrong you are," Cy said catching Ruby's attention, "I go to school with a few people who I swear are too odd to be human. There again I've got friends in every class at the school."

They stopped in front of the apartment building where Cy lived, "Well here we are," Ruby said, "Will you be going to sleep for the night?"

Cy looked at his watch, "It's only seven thirty," He said, "The police in this area don't start enforcing the curfew until about ten, and I don't go to bed until ten thirty."

"Are you suggesting I follow you into your home like a stray puppy?" Ruby asked unamused, "Sorry, I may be a vampire living in the woods, but I do have standards."

"Which explains why your house looks so well maintained," Cy said.

"Exactly, the place was a shambles when I first got there," Ruby stated, "and that was a week after they shut down that part of the city."

"Well, I could always invite you into my room," Cy said, "if you don't mind scaling the wall again."

Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes, "You're just impossible to get rid of," She said in a breathy whisper.

"Fine, you don't have to if you don't want to," Cy said, "It was only a suggestion." He turned and walked to the door, "I hope you stay warm over the next few days." He said looking over his shoulder, but Ruby wasn't anywhere to be found, "Looks like I'm playing bachelor again tonight."

He walked in and said hello to the man behind the desk, "Anything for room three twenty four, sir," He asked.

The man looked in the mailbox, "Ah, lemme see~" He dragged out the last syllable as he perused the boxes, "Oh, here you go kiddo. Your sister's supposed to be getting back in the morning, right?"

"That's the plan, but I don't know what time," Cy replied as the man handed him the mail from the box.

"And your four friends are coming too, for that Dungeons and Dragons night you do every other week, yeah?" The man asked.

"Yup," Cy replied flipping through the mail to make sure nothing was out of place.

"Okay, kid," The man said handing Cy a tote bag with four two-liter bottles of soda, "I know what the whole gaming thing is about, though my games back in the day were Chess, Scrabble, and Monopoly. But, I do know you gotta stay awake for those crucial moments of play."

Cy took the bags and chuckled, "You've got a point there, thank you," He said, "Have a good night, and thanks again."

"Hehe," The man laughed, "Don't mention it, kid. Now, where was I?" He asked as he sat down in his chair and picked up the Sports section of the local paper "Huh, Paperboy in the sixth?"

The apartment Cy shared with his sister was quaint, but it had room enough for the two of them plus at most six other guests. His sister, Ivy, was a medical assistant at Vale Central Hospital and though she made enough to afford a bigger apartment, she wasn't one to drop a lump sum of cash on a place that she and her brother were bound to get lost in. So she settled for an affordable apartment near the Vale Police Department's main office and close enough to the park for she and Cy to be able to jog to and back in the early mornings and afternoons.

Cy set the four bottles of soda in the refrigerator and took out a carton of eggs, a bag of shredded cheddar cheese, a package of Bacon, and the butter. He set them on the kitchen counter and began cooking a bacon and cheddar omelet. When he'd finished, he made two pieces of toast and sat down to eat, "I could sure use this after the eventful evening I've had," He said as he savored the taste of his handy work, "And I've outdone myself once again." He said after a few bites, "Ivy's certainly missing out, I think this is my best yet."

When he'd finished his meal, he washed the dishes and put them away. He then walked to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and changed out his bandage. He walked into his room, sat down on the side of his bed and plopped down on his back, "Wow," He said, "I actually had a conversation with a vampire, a girl vampire." He said, "I don't know what's stranger, that or making a deal to help Melanie Malachite pass in Math."

A tapping at Cy's window cut his train of thought. He crawled over and opened it. He looked over and saw Ruby looking at him, "I believe it's still customary to invite a girl in," She said, "Unless the rules have changed in the last few centuries and I was somehow the last to know."

Cy was a little taken aback, "Uh, please, come in." He said, "Just have a seat on my bed."

The girl crawled in through the window, "And if there's a next time, I promise I'll come through the front door." She said sitting cross-legged as Cy shut the window.

"So, uh, what changed your mind?" The boy asked.

"Well," Ruby replied, "in spite of my better judgement, I felt an odd sensation in my chest a block away from here and decided to make my way back here."

"An odd sensation," Cy asked in mild shock, "Like what?"

"Like a heartbeat," Ruby replied, "And I hadn't felt that since I'd been turned, and that was a full millennium ago."

Cy was in a state of disbelief, "My gosh," He said.

"And if I may be frank," Ruby said, "It's a little disturbing as to how well you're taking this."

"You wouldn't be the first to think my fascination with these sorts of things was disturbing," Cy said as he looked over to his books, "I mean I can't think of any other eleven year old who has so many works of horror on his shelf while everyone else my age is interested in Cam Jansen and Nancy Drew."

"Those were two series that were better than they sounded," Ruby said.

"Yeah," Cy said, "And I'll admit, I did have a small crush on Cam and Nancy when I was younger."

"And yet another reason why I look at humans strangely," Ruby deadpanned, "you look at the female race as beautiful and then objectify their redeeming qualities. When one comes around older and more visually captivating, you throw the previous one aside like a discarded piece of trash."

"I've honestly never liked a girl for looks," Cy said, "for me it's always been about intelligence and creativity."

Ruby rolled her eyes, _He says that now, but he'll change like most men and some women these days._ She continued to look around the boy's room. Manga, works of fiction both new and old, and Dungeons and Dragons lined a few modest shelves along one wall. On one wall were a few posters, one of them being from a manga she'd remembered reading recently about a boy wanting to be a great ninja in spite of events that had happened only moments after his birth. She looked over to Cy's desk. It was surprisingly the cleanest part of the room. On the corner near the wall was a photograph of Cy and three other kids around his age. There was one person who stood out to Ruby, a girl wearing glasses with white hair and blue eyes. The solemn and dignified look on her face reminded the vampire girl about someone she'd met in the last two centuries. _It couldn't be her,_ She thought, _she passed away within the last hundred years or so. Perhaps this girl is a descendant, or distant relative of the like._

Cy looked to where Ruby was staring, "Oh, those are my best friends," He said casually, "If you'd like to meet them, they're coming over tomorrow night for a round of D and D."

Ruby shook herself out of her bewilderment, "Um, if it's going to be stormy the next few days or so," She said, "I think it'd be best if I stayed at my home until things subside."

Cy thought about this for a moment, "Oh," He said sounding mildly disappointed, "You're right. I understand."

Ruby looked out the window, "It's probably best if I get home while it's still clear out anyway." She said as she opened the window, "Remember what I said, and tell no one about me or where I live."

"I remember," Cy said, "and I'm a boy of my word. I won't tell anyone."

"Farewell, Cypress." Ruby said leaping from the window ledge and jumping across the rooftops toward her home in the forest.

Cy sat there for a few more minutes, "Wow," He stared in awe toward the forest for the second night in a row, "The last two days have been just full of surprises." He gave a yawn as he reached over and turned the light off. He lay on his bed looking at his ceiling, remembering Ruby's face and her gentleness in comparison to the night they first met. "I just hope she'll… be okay the next… few… days." Cy said as his eyes closed.

* * *

Ivy, Cypress' big sister, was just entering the Vale City Limits as the rain kept falling steadily on her windshield. She'd driven a full two hours from the City of Vacuo and was glad to be home. Vacuo was tragically undergoing a gang turf war and the influx of casualties had almost gotten to her. The war itself had been more of an internal struggle for dominance sparked by leaders of an infamous gang of radicals known as the White Fang, Sienna Khan and Adam Taurus. The underground had become a forbidden zone with S.W.A.T. Teams aiding local law enforcement in patrols of the area, but there was hardly anything that could be done.

It was this reason why Ivy was against Cypress doing any jogging when it got dark. There was a faction of the Fang present in Vale, and although they kept to themselves, there was always the possibility of the war slithering its way into Vale. Ivy knew moving from the city would mean her brother would need to say goodbye to everyone he held close, so she promised she wouldn't bring it up unless there was no other choice. However, there was a spark of hope in this lack of violence, the Vale faction's leader was in constant contact with Commissioner Ironwood of the Vale Police Department. The fact that such regulation of an infamous organization set the wary public at ease, but the public was ever aware of the possibility of shady deals between the police and the Fang. In recent public announcements, Commissioner Ironwood addressed the issue of possible illegal activities between the Fang and Vale PD as being a fabricated rumor brought on by paranoia.

But whether or why, Ivy was ever vigilant in making sure her only surviving sibling wasn't at risk of being approached by known members of the Fang. Cypress himself kept his distance from the Fang's turf on the North West side.

It was seven in the morning when Ivy made it to her usual parking spot, the rainfall had lightened, but the wind had picked up slightly. She made quick work of grabbing her luggage and running to the door of the apartment building. "Oh, Ivy," The man behind the desk greeted, "didn't expect to see you home so early today." He took Ivy's rain coat and offered the young woman a cup of coffee, "I guess the Civil War in Vacuo is that bad, huh?"

Ivy took a sip of her coffee, "It's not cataclysmic yet," She said, "but there are more and more people being brought into Vacuo General on a daily basis." She turned her head, "We lost a young man on the operating table because I hesitated, he was from the Khan sub-faction." The desk clerk frowned sympathetically at her, "I know I don't care for the White Fang that much, but I feel powerless just being limited to patching the casualties up time and again. There was one man who came back in three times in three days in a row. Each time he looked progressively worse."

The clerk put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't beat yourself up over that, Ivy," He said, "You only did what you could. If nothing else, you did something to help people in need, that's all a doctor can do in a situation like that."

Ivy finished the coffee, "I suppose you're right," She said handing the clerk the empty mug, "Okay, on to my number one concern. How's my little brother been?"

"Hehe, that kid brother of yours still hasn't woken up yet." The clerk said, "Either that or he's up cooking something for you."

Ivy's stomach growled loudly, "I hope it's the latter," She chuckled nervously. "I woke up early and left my hotel before I had a chance to eat breakfast."

"Hopefully that cup o' joe's enough to at least get you to your room," The clerk said, "I know he missed you a bit while you were gone."

"Thanks Mr. Viridian," Ivy said grabbing her things and making her way to the elevator.

When she got to the room, she unlocked the door and stepped inside and was greeted by her baby brother hugging her by the waist, "Welcome back," He said.

Ivy chuckled, "Hey Cy," She said ruffling her brother's hair. She looked around to see the boy had kept the apartment in reasonable condition. The dishes and clothes were washed and put away, save for Ivy's unmentionables, Cy had his boundaries and Ivy accepted that. "Looks like you were busy keeping this place in decent shape while I was in Vacuo."

"Yeah," Cy said stepping back, "I'm just glad you weren't caught up in that crazy gang war."

Ivy moved to the dining room table and pulled up a chair. She sat down and looked at her brother, "Look, the only that matters is that I'm here and not on a stainless steel slab in the county mortuary," She said, "So, let's forget about that issue for now and focus on the immediate elephant in the room. What's for breakfast, I'm starving."

Cypress gave a bemused sigh, "Scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes," He said, "with maple syrup."

The young boy walked into the kitchen and came out with two plates, which he placed in front of his sister and at his place at the small three-person dining room table. In the center, he set a plastic bottle of Miss Butterworth's maple syrup. Ivy held out her hand and Cy took it in his own and they bowed their heads, "Lord, we thank you for the gifts we are about to receive. That they may give us the strength we need to go about the day and nourish us as you nourish our minds with wisdom and our hearts with the will to carry on with the wishes of the departed. Amen." She said, "Now let's dig in."

"Yeah, let's," Cy said as he picked up his knife and fork.

"So, anything interesting happen while I was away," Ivy asked.

Cy swallowed a bite of his pancakes, "Well, Melanie Malachite accepted an offer that Miss Nikos set in motion yesterday."

"Oh," Ivy inquired, "what sort of offer?"

"Well, Miss Nikos partnered her up with Azure and I yesterday in class," Cy started, "and as thanks for helping her with her class work, she said that as long as Azure and I help her pass Miss Nikos' class, she won't be a jerk to us."

"Sounds like quite the offer," Ivy said between bites, "Think it may lead to a truce with you and Melanie?"

Cy pondered this, "You know I schuck at dipolmashee." He said with his mouth full. He swallowed before continuing, "So I'm not gonna coerce her into a cleverly laid out rouse."

"Oh, trust me; I know you're not like every other boy in that school," Ivy said, "With the exception of Azure of course."

"Yeah," Cy said. He huffed, "Ivy, remember how you said not to go jogging at night?"

Ivy sighed, "Cy, why bring down the mood with telling me you did just that?"

"I was under a lot of stress from classes on Thursday," Cy said, "Plus, I was under Coach Lazuli's orders. I needed to jog at night at least once this past week in order to meet the requirements to stay on the pre-registration list for track team."

Ivy remembered a talk with Coach Xenokles Lazuli about such matters. She couldn't help but feel foolish for overlooking that one detail. "Did you at least have all the things we talked about on hand?" She asked.

"The whole safety checklist," Cy said, "from the hoodie to the security whistle and luminescent arm straps."

"And your phone," Ivy asked.

"Fully charged and in my sweat pants pocket." Cy said.

"Okay," Ivy said, "and I know it frustrates you to no end about how many times I ask you if you have those things. But, I'm your sister and I worry. You're the only immediate family I have left."

Cy smiled, "I know, and trust me, Ivy, I'm not one to do that regularly."

"With good reason," Ivy smiled back.

They finished eating, washed the dishes and put them away. Ivy went to unpack and check-in with her boss at Vale Central Hospital. When that was all said and done, Cy went to designing the maps for the latest segment of his group's Dungeons and Dragons campaign. "Got the drinks all ready for tonight, little bro?" Ivy asked.

"Yup, Mr. Viridian gave me a bag of four two-liter bottles of soda last night," Cy replied not taking his focus off of the graph paper in front of him. He was drawing out the intricate maps that his friend Umbra would be directing the group through during this new campaign that would be strewn out over the next few months. Game night would be part D and D, part Smash Bros. of the party's choosing based on a vote, part Pokémon battles. They did this to suit the needs of all parties involved. Winter was the surprise when she first showed up the first game night they ever had. Cy and Azure were impressed with how the girl with the silver spoon knowing her way around a game board and a Pokémon battle. The group always had fun on these nights, whether it was clear or not. Tonight would be great for more than one reason, and Cy would be in for the most fun ever.

* * *

 **A/N: Here's the translations for the Latin used by Ruby - She questions why Cy shows mercy towards a blood sucking monster. She then goes on to think that Cy's one of the few people who can see past everything about what Ruby has become since she turned.**

 **This vampire rendition of Ruby Rose is pretty fun for me to write and develop. I'm keeping a few elements from the canon version though, and I'll be bringing that into play more and more as this story progresses. And those who've read and watched the Swedish film Let the Right One In, I'm basing Ruby's early stages on Eli.  
**

 **Well, that's chapter 3 done :) I hope you all enjoy it. Feel free to leave a review.**

 **See you next time,**

 **~Cluny**


	4. Game Night - Part 2

Cypress Alexander Whitemane, a quarter Native American child, one eighth from each of his parents. But no one ever questioned that. He took inspiration from that and poured a generous helping into his scenarios for game night. His character, a Shadow Worgen named Haze, was based upon warriors from his mother's blood-lines in the Tribal Nations of the North American Plains. Haze an eighth level Shadow Assassin, which proved to be a mathematical challenge for Cypress, one that the boy thoroughly enjoyed.

The young boy eagerly awaited five in the afternoon, when his friends Azure, Winter, Luna, and Luna's girlfriend Nora would arrive. He looked out of his bedroom window and saw that the rain wasn't going to be letting up, "Too bad vampires can't cross running water," He sighed, "I kinda hoped for her to show up."

"Hoped for whom to show up," Ivy asked stopping in her brother's bedroom doorway, "it's a little too early for Melanie Malachite to be showing up for game night, don't you think?" She chuckled.

Her brother almost gagged, "Blech, don't even joke about that, sis." He protested. "I'm helping her in Miss. Nikos' math class, not trying to win her over with the power of numbers."

Ivy chuckled, "I know, but a little optimism never hurt, little brother." There was a knock at the door, "Sounds like Umbra's here."

Cy gathered everything up, "I'm right behind you, sis."

The siblings made their way to the living room and Cy got everything laid out on the coffee table. Ivy opened the door, "Hey, Ivy," Said a young man only a few years younger than Ivy holding two bags of food in each of his arms, "I got the grub and the rest of the party here too."

Ivy looked out the door, "My god, you're all soaked," She said, "Come in and I'll start some water for some hot drinks."

* * *

Ruby hated it when it rained. She looked out the window at the pouring torrent from on high. She had lived through several lifetimes, one of them a lifetime of stormy days, and never could she get over how boring it was being stuck inside on a rainy day. She looked over the small arrangement of books she had on the shelf in the old house's living room, "Read it, read it, couldn't get past the epilogue, weak synopsis," She droned on out of boredom as she analyzed her miniscule collection of books, "Ugh, this is torture." She threw her head back, "I'm bored!" She said raising her voice. She looked all around the house and found some old games she'd acquired that required more than one player, "Ugh, I've never found anything fun about these games without someone to play them with." She continued looking through the house, this time to see if some sort of chore existed that would occupy her. "Ugh, everything is already spotless, and I just gave this place a fresh coat of paint a few days ago."

She stomped into her room stood at the foot of her bed, fell backward onto the mattress and let out a loud growl of frustration, "GRAH! There is NOTHING to do!" She sat up and looked around her room. Her eyes fell on the bag of clothes that Cy had left her, "I guess a change of clothes would do nicely."

* * *

Cypress served a cup of hot tea to his friend Winter, "Thank you, Cypress," She said. Winter was the heiress to Schnee Enterprises, a company that had made a huge success over the years in the field of mass production. Everything from auto parts to laptop computers came off the assembly line with the familiar Schnee Family snowflake embossed on the package. Winter's father, Minze, had run the company successfully over the years, reclaiming its former glory as only a full-blooded Schnee could.

The next cup went to Luna, the pink and purple clad goth accepted it. "Thanks Cy." Luna had been adopted by one of the local families known for their involvement in the world of Law Enforcement. Her adoptive sister was none other than Umbra's betrothed. She and Cy were kindred spirits in a way, both of them without parents, but they had family that loved them very much.

The third cup, containing hot cocoa, went to Luna's girlfriend Nora Valkyrie, "Thank you~!" Nora was a sophomore at Citadel High School. She first met Luna at a local Halloween store, and they fell for each other pretty hard. Luna's adopted family was uneasy at first, but when they found out that Nora was in the same situation as Luna, they were more comfortable about the arrangement.

The fourth cup went to Umbra, "My thanks, little dude." Umbra was the assistant manager of the local book shop. His fiancé, Lieutenant Ferrina Ochre of the Vale Police Department, was on call that night and couldn't join them.

"Looks like the storm hasn't stalled out," Ivy said as she brought some blankets out of her room. She passed them around, "These should help warm you all up." She looked to her brother, "By the way, I saw that a few of my old things don't fit anymore. Did you have anything to do with that, Cypress?"

Cy only looked at her and nodded, "I saw someone in the park and she needed clothes," He said only telling half of the truth, "I remember you saying you wanted to give away some of the clothes you couldn't wear anymore… so I decided…"

"You decided to take those clothes to her so she could get better use out of them than I could." Ivy said smiling, "Cy, you're definitely a step ahead of me. I was going to donate them to the hospital when I went back on Monday. But, I guess giving them to someone who needed them was a good idea too. So, that means you're off the hook for doing something selfless." She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a mug full hot tea.

"And I gave her a few things from my old clothes too." The young boy added, "She looked like she was around my body type."

"None the less," Ivy said sipping from her mug, "you did something most boys your age wouldn't have done. For that, I'm proud of you."

Cy smiled as he took a sip from a cup of hot cocoa he'd poured for himself. "So," Winter asked, "What game are we starting with tonight?"

Cy looked to Umbra who nodded, "Hold onto your ponytail, Schnee dudette," The laid back man said as he pulled out his tablet, "because Dungeon Master Obsidia is gonna totally rock your world."

* * *

Ruby looked at herself in the mirror. She'd changed out of her previous outfit and into a white blouse with a large rose silkscreened onto the back with black denim jeans. She hugged herself and inhaled, filling her nostrils with the smell of freshly washed cotton. The smell made her mind run wild, it made her remember her childhood, a point in her life that felt like an eternity ago. She remembered wearing a simple gown made of fine linen that kept her cool in the summer months and kept her warm under a blanket in the dead of winter. Her thoughts drifted to her parents and half-sister. A tear rolled down her cheek, that hadn't happened so long that felt almost alien to her. "What's happening to me?" She asked, "That boy has something to do with it, I just know it." She looked out the window at the rain that was still steadily falling, "I'll look into these sensations later," she sighed, "the way it looked the last two nights, he's not going anywhere anytime soon."

She walked over to the bag and looked through it some more. She found a white fitted sheet under the clothes. She stretched it and looked at the large mattress on her bed. "I suppose this will feel better than just the mattress." She said as she stretched the sheet from corner to corner on the mattress. She tugged it until it felt taut. She took an old quarter from a night stand she'd liberated from an old furniture store back when the inner-city had been closed off and bounced it off of the mattress, "I've still got it. She'd be proud." She wiped another tear from her eye.

She went back to the bag and looked for anymore bed linens. To her mild satisfaction, there was also a white sheet and comforter to go with the fitted sheet. She went back to the bed and put both on over the fitted sheet and mattress. "I should probably thank him," She said, "after all, he went out of his way to bring me these."

Ruby returned to the bag. She resumed rummaging through the contents. There were several shirts, a few more pairs of jeans, a black night shirt, a pair of rose spotted pajama pants, and a small sleep mask with a pair of red eyes on it. She giggled at how infantile yet befitting to her tastes the clothes looked. She looked at the rest of the contents; it was several pairs of young lady's undergarments. She blushed fiercely, "I really hope that runt didn't do anything unsavory or ungentlemanly when he found these."

Then she remembered how he froze up when she wrapped her arms around his waist. The wide, fearful eyes that accompanied his slightly shaking body, told her that he was more modest than anything. She then remembered his soft, light green eyes, full of innocence and a want to do the right thing. She felt her cheeks heating up, "No," She said, "no, no, no. I'm not falling for a boy who is so perplexing." She huffed and crossed her arms. She looked at bag and noticed a small rectangular object under the remaining garments.

Ruby's curiosity was peaked. She walked over to the bag and picked up the object. To her discovery, it was a small leather bound book. "Huh," She grunted in confusion, "This is unexpected." She opened the cover and saw it was hand-written in what she could only assume was Cypress' handwriting. "His handwriting is actually better than most men's handwriting these days." She said taking note of the neatness of the letter spacing and the words. Another thing that caught the young vampire's eye was the complexity of the words used in the story. She rushed downstairs and sat on a small sofa where she normally did her reading and opened the book again. "Let's see what he's capable of writing at his age." She said as she began reading from the first page.

* * *

"Are you serious?" Azure groaned, "I swear the dice are against me tonight. Last time I was rolling fifteens and higher," He took a sip of cocoa and got up ending his turn. The group had been playing Dungeons and Dragons for an hour and so far, the group's progress through the story Cy and Umbra had concocted was slow at first, but it was progressing just as the two had figured.

Winter looked to Cy and Umbra, "Think we should stop here for the night?" She asked, "After all, Azure could probably do with a break from the constant rolling of numbers lower than eleven."

Cy chuckled, "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

Umbra smiled as he put his copy of the story away along with his books and guides, "I think we've hit a decent stopping point too. We do tend to leave the game after about three hours, yeah?"

"Yeah, and then the rest of the night stays fun," Ivy smiled, "What should the next game be?"

"I say we take a snack break," Cypress said, "I mean it'd suck if all that food went to waste."

* * *

Ruby'd read a good portion of the story Cy had written. She was very much ensnared by the story. She'd never thought that the written works of a child a fraction of her age would be so talented in the art of written word. "Wow," She whispered in marvel at the story as the events played out in her head. The girl looked at the clock on the wall, "Almost nine o'clock?" She walked over to the window and looked outside, "Looks like it's letting up a bit. But, will I be able to head over there without crossing any running water?"

Ruby hurried back up to her room and looked through the bag once again. Inside was an old rain poncho. "Not really what I was expecting," She said to herself, "But I haven't got any choice left."

The vampire grabbed her cloak, put on the poncho, and ran out the door at a blistering pace. She ran through the forest and crossed the bridge at an old dam made by a beaver that used to reside within before moving to find a new home in the forest. Ruby ran down the path at full speed, tearing across the street and cutting through the alleyways to avoid detection. Finally, she made it to the wall leading straight up to Cypress' room. She gazed up at the window, "He's probably not in his room," She said to herself, "He said he'd be having company over tonight." She decided to take the risk, "Guess I'm going in through the front door then."

She walked around to the front of the building and stopped a few feet from the door. She looked through the glass panes, took a deep breath, and exhaled, "You can do this, Ruby," She muttered aloud.

Ruby strolled through the doors and was greeted by Mr. Viridian at the front desk, "Well good evening, Miss." The doorman said, "And how can I help you this evening?"

Ruby looked at him and asked, "I'm looking for a young boy who lives here named Cypress," She said, "What room does he live in?"

Mr. Viridian looked at the girl, "How do you know young Cypress?" He asked.

Ruby maintained her composure, "He bumped into me a couple of days ago at the park," She said, "I told him I needed clothes. I live out there in a hidden shelter. I have nowhere else to go." She bit her lip and gave a convincing sniffle, "When he gave me these new clothes, he told me where I could find him if I ever needed any other help. The rain kept coming down and my shelter started leaking… and… and…" She covered her face to add to her performance.

Mr. Viridian was wise enough to know how easily a homeless child especially a teenager could pull a fast one on an elderly person, especially if they were a gypsy. But Ruby didn't strike him as a gypsy, and vagrants wanting to pull something would normally do it in the shadowy catacombs of a network of alleyways with back up waiting, not inside the door of a hotel in plain view of a security camera. He sighed heavily, "The boy you're looking for is in room three twenty four up on the third floor." He pointed her toward the elevator, "Elevator's down at the end of the hall. Press the number three and when the doors open, walk out and turn to the left, follow the hall and turn right. From there, it's the third door on the left."

Ruby sniffled as she peaked through her fingers at him, "Th-thank you sir," She said feigning meekness. She turned and headed down the hallway, keeping her façade until she pressed the up button on the elevator and walked inside. From there she sighed and giggled, "I can't believe how easy that was."

Back at the front desk, Mr. Viridian chuckled, "That was either the sweetest homeless teen girl in the world, or I'm the biggest sap for the old guilt routine."

* * *

Cypress and the others were just finishing up their snacks. Nora gave an audible belch that caused everyone to stifle a giggle. Winter sighed in disgust, "Must you be so boorish, Nora," She asked.

"What, it's a compliment to burp in some cultures as a sign that the food was good." The redhead giggled. "

Cypress looked to Winter and shrugged, "She does have a point, to an extent." He pointed out.

"Well, this isn't a Japanese noodle bar or restaurant," Winter countered.

There was a knock at the door. Everyone turned toward it. "Who could that be at this late hour," Ivy asked as she headed toward the door. She turned the knob and opened it. On the other side, she was greeted by a young girl with dark hair, pale looking skin, and silver eyes wearing an old rain poncho, "Can I help you?" She inquired.

"Um, does a boy named Cypress live here?" She asked in a mildly frightened tone.

"That's… my little brother," Ivy answered, "How do you know him?"

Cy peaked from behind his sister and his eyes went wide, "This is the girl I told you about," He said, "The one I gave those clothes to yesterday."

Ivy looked to her brother and then to the girl, "Well, I wasn't expecting the one person you donated clothing to, to track down where we live, Cypress." She said in a stern tone.

Ruby frowned in disappointment at her actions, "I'll go, sorry to…" Ivy stopped her by putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I'm not going to turn you away seeing as you've come all this way," Ivy said, "Come in, I'll get some tea and something for you to eat."

"That… won't be…" Ruby stuttered.

"I insist," Ivy smiled as her tone mellowed.

Ruby gulped, "O-okay," She stepped in through the door and looked to see the guests Cy'd mentioned the previous night. Out of all of them, she recognized Umbra from her venture into the bookstore a few months prior. Her eyes moved toward Winter, _My God,_ she thought, _She's like her twin._

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Ruby," Cypress said, "Ruby, these are my friends, Winter Schnee II, Luna L'Amour, her girlfriend Nora Valkyrie, and my best friend Azure Aquio. And you already know Umbra Obsidia."

"Hey," Umbra said pointing at the girl, "you're the girl I met in the Manga section who I gave that blue berry muffin to."

Ruby smiled, "Y-yeah, that… that was." She said nervously.

Ivy came back from the kitchen, "Here you are, a cup of hot tea with honey, and a plate of chocolate chip cookies for our newest guest." She placed the cup and the plate on the table.

Ruby took off the poncho and handed it to Cy, "What do I do?" She asked the boy in a fearful whisper, "Vampires can't eat human food."

Cy frowned, "Just grin and bear it," he whispered, "if you can't keep it down, I'll have no choice but to spill the beans."

Ruby gulped and sat down in front of the place setting. She stared at the food and trembled, _Well, here goes everything, all my secrets revealed after a millennium._ She reached out and picked up a cookie, _Farewell freedom,_ She took a bite, chewed and gave a hard swallow. To her surprise… the bit of cookie stayed down.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that's the best I could put together after a rather grueling month. For those of you wanting me to post updates for this more frequently, I stated before that this will only be updated at the start of every month. I'm struggling right now to pump out two chapters a month with my story Melting the Ice as it is. Please accept that until I free up time in my schedule that I'll only update this around the first Thursday or Friday of every month.**

 **In the meantime, I'll bring up an old reference to an old Looney Tunes cartoon that I made in the last chapter, "Paperboy in the Sixth." This classic line comes from the 1949 short entitled Porky Chops, I highly recommend looking it up on YouTube or a website dedicated to classic cartoons as well as other classic animated cartoons. ****Well, going to bed, long day at work tomorrow.**

 **'Til next time,**

 **~Cluny**


	5. Game Night - Part 3

Ruby was baffled, she'd eaten human food before over a century ago, but it didn't stay down. She ended up puking it up, out of fear, she ran away from the only person who'd actually accepted how different she was. But tonight, she managed to keep the food down. She tasted every sweet, decadent, sugary crumb. She could feel something building inside of her. "R-Ruby," Cy said as the girl in his seat scrunched up, "is everything okay?"

"I hope she's not allergic to chocolate," Winter said.

"I hope so too," Ivy said, "I spent most of the afternoon baking enough of those cookies for everyone."

Ruby groaned, getting everyone's attention. The groaned grew into a contained squeal of delight, "I LOVE IT!" She shouted, "THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I'VE EVER TASTED! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!"

The group shushed her, "Sorry Ruby," Cy said in a whisper, "but other people living in this building are asleep at the moment. Don't draw any attention toward yourself."

Ruby didn't care, the cookie was too delicious to resist. "But it's so~ good, Cy." She said with a grin of giddiness.

Ivy blushed, "Thanks, I baked them myself."

Ruby looked to the older girl and hugged her, "Your cooking is extraordinary, Miss…"

Ivy couldn't help but chuckle, "Thanks, I learned all I know from…" She hesitated, "… well two very wonderful people."

Winter looked at this strange girl wearing Ivy's old clothes. Something about her appearance struck her as familiar. "Ruby," She said getting the brunette's attention, "Have we met before?"

"Hmm," Ruby hummed as she lightly scratched her chin, "not that I'm aware of, no. I don't even know your name."

Winter smiled slightly, "My name is Winter," She said, "Winter Schnee II. I'm named after my great-aunt of three generations ago. Back during time of Jacques Schnee, whom the family doesn't bring up in conversation, for certain reasons."

"With the kinds of things that scoundrel and Winter I's brother committed, I'm not surprised," Umbra said. He looked to Ruby, "It'd be better looking up the events of the Schnee family in a local encyclopedia, I've tried all online sources, but most of the accounts of Jacques and Whitley Schnee," These names both sent small, yet subtle shudders of disgust through Ruby's body, Umbra still kept going, "were heavily redacted. The Schnee family went to great lengths to make their names disappear. Only Winter I, and her younger sister Weiss, and the names of most of the family staff aren't redacted."

Weiss Schnee, that name filled Ruby's recently noticed heart with warmth. She saw so much of a resemblance in Winter II, that it almost brought tears to her eyes. The young vampire kept herself composed, a trait that Weiss had helped her learn through working tirelessly with the brunette all those years ago. "Ruby," The brunette's attention turned to Cypress, "is everything okay?"

Ruby smiled, "Yes, why wouldn't everything be okay?"

"You looked like you were spacing out for a moment," Nora said.

"I assure you all, I'm fine," Ruby said, "it's just been a little while since I was in a situation like this."

"Surrounded by total strangers, with only one person you know completely?" Luna asked. Ruby nodded, "I can understand that. I mean that's why we do this every other week."

"What do you normally do during these get-togethers?" Ruby asked.

"Play games, have fun, laugh," Azure listed, "Most of the time we play Dungeons and Dragons to start it off."

Ruby suddenly remembered the book she'd found in the bag of clothes Cy had given her. She stood up and walked over to where her poncho had been hung on the wall. From one of the poncho's detachable waterproof pockets, she pulled out a small, leather bound book. "Cy you left this in the bag of clothes you left with me."

Cy looked at the book, "That's where it went," he said, "I'd been looking for that for weeks. It must have been knocked into that bag by accident."

"I hope it's okay that I read some of it." Ruby said.

Cy's eyes lit up, "That's absolutely okay." He said.

"I actually couldn't put it down," Ruby added, "you're a pretty good writer, Cy."

Cypress blushed, "Th-thank you." He stammered, "But, I can't take all the credit. I mean it's mostly from all of us, I'm just one person."

"But Cy," Umbra interjected, "You're the one who wrote down all of the events from our campaigns. And who knows, one day you might actually bring D and D to the literary popularity of World of Warcraft."

"Never heard of that title," Ruby said, "I'm only familiar with the Dungeons and Dragons games."

"Oh, you're a classic roleplay game fan," Umbra said, "that's awesome. I can totally respect that."

Ruby laughed, "Well, not really, I'm more of a fan of literature as a whole."

"That's a rarity in this technology heavy era." Azure said, "But I can see why you prefer books."

Ruby smiled, "But, I'm open to new things," The others at the table felt at ease with the brunette, "And it's been a while since I've done… well something similar to this."

Cy looked to Azure, "Do we have to do the initiation thing?" he asked.

"Hm," Azure scratched his chin, "since she's your new friend, I say we make it a team trial."

"Initiation," Ruby asked, "team trial?"

Ivy sighed, "It was Azure's idea."

Luna looked to Ruby, "These doofs decided it would be a good idea to initiate new members to our group."

"Basically," Nora added, "you're set in a game against the person in the room who is most skilled in that game."

"And since it's a team trial," Winter spoke up, "you're teamed up with a person of your choice while you play. That gives you a fairly nice handicap."

Ruby thought about it, "Are there any other rules about this trial?" She asked.

"Only that you get to choose your opponent in the initiation." Ivy said.

"And trust me, kiddo," Umbra said, "we're a few of the best gamers in this region, though most of us thrive in fast paced card and action games. They're Cy's weakest game type, by the way."

"Yeah, but I'm good at other types of games." Cy protested.

"This is true." Ivy said, "But, it's Ruby's decision who to battle against and who she'll battle alongside."

Ruby went into a state of deep thought. She wanted to impress Cy, but she wanted to do it her own way. She took her finger and pointed to the strawberry blonde haired boy and said, "I choose you as my opponent, Cypress." She said.

There was an audible gasp as the younger members of the group's eyes went wide with shock. "Ooh," Umbra said, "You just wanna charge right into a swarm of yellow jackets, don't you kiddo?"

Ruby looked at everyone at the table, "What's the matter?" She asked.

Nora laughed, "Well, ya see," she said nervously.

"Lemme break it down for you," Luna said, "Each of us specialize in game types. Nora's forte is smash your opponent into the pavement types of games like Doom, Smash Bros., and Mortal Kombat. I'm pretty good at the games in the survival horror and mystery genre, like the Nancy Drew games, and Five Nights at Freddy's. Umbra, over there, prefers the roleplay table top games, like D and D and the like. Azure's specialties are arcade style games like Mario Bros. and Galaga. Ivy specializes in turn based strategy games like Final Fantasy and Pokémon. Winter, as Umbra said, is balanced in her specialties. Any kind of game is something she can adapt to."

"And what about Cypress," Ruby asked.

"Puzzles and platformers," Luna said, "like Balloon Fight and Ultimate Chicken Horse."

The latter of the titles that Luna had mentioned was one that was unfamiliar to Ruby, "I'm pretty good at puzzles too. But in the traditional sense, not video games."

"Oh, hoho, boy," Umbra said, "I think this is gonna be good. Who do you choose to be your teammate?"


	6. Team Trial - Ruby VS Cypress

**I'm sorry for the month and a half of nothing, April was a crazy month and I was out on a much needed vacation for my cousin's college graduation... plus I had to work Mother's Day which was a nightmare and a half, but I spent the rest of the day with my mother ('cause I love my momma), and had a great time. I've started scheduling myself so I can be a bit more productive in putting out content. Now then, I will let you guys get back to this, the newest chapter in my Vampire AU. The explanation as to why Ruby is able to eat human food and not feel sick will be explained later in the plot, so stay tuned. Now, enough rambling. Here. We. GO!**

* * *

Cypress' mind raced, a team trial against Ruby Rose, a one thousand fifteen year old vampire. He could not believe it. His nerves were wracked now, facing this creature that he'd only known for three days had come into his, well his sister's, apartment and chose him out of all the gamers present to be his opponent in the initiation. Ruby's face as she looked over her options for her partner, nearly everyone looked worried, stayed calm and focused on the body language of every person sitting around the table. Finally, she made her decision, "Winter Schnee," She said pointing in the white-haired blue-eyed bespectacled girl, "I choose you as my partner in this team trial."

Winter raised an eyebrow. She'd gone against Cypress before and barely made it through two rounds with him, going against him with a newcomer would be like a novice in chess taking on the super computer, Deep Blue. "Are you sure that I'm the best choice?" The rich girl asked.

"Definitely," Ruby said, "I'm good at noticing people's composure… for my age." _For your age, really, Ruby?_ She cursed herself for having to hide her true age for the umpteen millionth time in her extended life, "And as far as calmness goes, you seemed like the greatest candidate."

Winter thought this over for a moment, "I suppose there's no flaw in that logic." She said, "But I will warn you, I can get a bit competitive."

Ruby smiled, "If what Luna said about Cypress loving puzzles and platformers is true, you'll have to lighten up on the competitive nature and think faster than ever."

Everyone in the room was surprised to hear Ruby speaking to Winter like a teacher. The girl may have been homeless, at least that's what they believed, but she had the spirit and speaking capabilities of a born leader. Winter adjusted her glasses, "Very well, Ruby," She said, "since it's your trial, you take the lead."

Ruby smiled again, "Only if you'll back me up, Winter."

Cypress smiled, "I guess it's a good thing I planted that book then." He muttered under his breath.

"What'd you say, Cy," Luna asked.

"Just that I'm glad to see them getting along before the trial starts." Cypress said lying through his teeth.

The party waited for Ruby to finish her refreshments, she loved every bit of it. Cypress started up his Nintendo Wii U system and opened his battlefield of choice, Super Mario Maker. Umbra saw this and laughed, "Oh, dudette, Cy's _really_ not using kid gloves if he's choosing this title."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"I'll explain," Nora suggested, "see, Cy's actually _ruthless_ at solving puzzles _and_ making them."

"And that explains things, because~" Ruby inquired.

Winter sighed at Nora's vague explanation, "The game he's chosen," She said, "is a very difficult platformer and, given the resources, a mid to long range combat game."

"It's only very difficult because you're going through levels that Cy's designed." Nora said.

Ruby looked nonchalantly over to Cy who was setting the game up on his Wii U tablet, "Let's see," Ruby heard the boy mumble, "for the first round, give her this one, second… and third can be~ these two~, and~ ch-ch-ch-ch-ch~, fourth is this level, and end the trial… with… this one… ri~ght here. Okay, ready to go."

Luna and Nora handed Winter the controllers. The bespectacled heiress handed the second controller to Ruby, "Since I'm a bit more experienced with this, I'll take be the point man." She said. Ruby cocked her head to one side, "Seriously, you're that inept?" Winter cursed under her breath, "I'll go first and explain how certain aspects work."

"So you're like a guide on a jungle exhibition?" Ruby asked.

Winter adjusted her glasses to pull herself out of a stupor of awe, "Actually yes."

"Okay," Ruby smiled, "I really appreciate that, Winter."

Winter smiled, "It's what teammates and friends do for each other." Hearing this made Ruby feel warm inside, Winter reminded her so much of someone from her past, someone now lost to her but so very dear to her unbeating heart. "Now then," Winter said, "Cy, I'll go first."

Cypress handed the girl the controller, "I'll warn you," He said, "The levels are lined up in such a way that they progressively get harder. In other words, it won't be very easy." He gave a wink in Ruby's direction as if to say, _Let's see if your extended life has made your brain quick to learn._

Ruby felt her chest throb, _Oh you're on, human,_ she growled in her head, "Talk is cheap, Cypress," She said defiantly eliciting a reaction from Cy that only she could detect. It was contraction of his pupil and iris that only came as one entered a state of being on the cusp of choosing between fight or flight. Ruby remembered back in the days when seeing this reaction would make her mouth water. It meant easy meat in a physical altercation to which she would savor every drop of the loser's life giving crimson nectar. But tonight, there was something off about this reaction, there was a steeling of resolve in Cypress eyes that halted Ruby's mental advance.

"Then let's see whose mind is sharper, Ruby," Cy retorted in a calm state of mind that sent a chill racing up the vampire girl's spine. She felt put off by this feeling, and yet, somewhere deep in her subconscious, part of her was salivating for more. Cypress walked to the open seat on the living room couch directly behind his partnered victims and asked, "Shall we begin?"

At that moment, Ruby felt her mouth go dry. But, she calmly inhaled and exhaled, "Ready to put him in his place, partner?" She asked Winter.

Winter snorted with confidence, "You really had to ask?" She chuckled at her uncharacteristic cockiness around Ruby. She hadn't felt this way before, _I don't know where she's from,_ She said, _and frankly, I really don't care. She's actually making me feel the most confident I've felt in years. I'd say this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship._

"Okay, dude and dudettes," Umbra said, "Rules are simple, each challenger gets five lives a piece. The goal is to make it from the starting point of each level to the finishing point of the level before the timer runs out. No outside interference is permitted. If the team effort falls short of beating three out of five stages, the final judgement falls upon the opinion of Cypress who will decide the fate of the newcomer." He raised an arm, "Ready, set…" The tension grew thick in the room rising to a fever pitch until, "…and GO!"

The television was switched to the game screen. The title of the four map run read I Triple Dog Dare You, Ruby. The vampire felt her cheeks heat up as a blush ran over her, _What is it about this boy that makes me feel this way?_ She cursed, _Why in God's name must his haughty attitude and perplexing mannerisms affect me so? It's too soon for me to think of such things, we've only just met._

Winter smiled, "I think he's going to give you heart palpitations before we start, partner." She giggled. This only made Ruby's blush deepen.

"Gonna start, or what," The vampire girl hear Cy whisper softly in her ear. The boy had a sly little smirk on his face that could put a fox to shame.

Ruby felt a chill race up her spine yet again. She didn't know why, but it felt wonderful to her. She shrugged it off for now and pressed proceeded to the game. Winter went first, as per the arrangement of the team that the two girls and their opponent had agreed upon. Ruby watched as her teammate progressed through the level first. It seemed fairly simple, make your way through a level that got progressively harder as the player went on, dodging enemies or racking up points by jumping on certain ones, and jump onto the flag pole at the end to collect points all while facing a countdown clock. "I'll say this, Ruby," Winter said, "levels that are designed by Cy aren't easy for beginners, even the simple looking ones have a level of difficulty to them."

Ruby looked at the controller in her hands. The alien device that would serve as her guide through the level was simple looking, all she needed were the left and right buttons on the direction pad, the "1" button to run faster which the vampire told herself not to use so she wouldn't run through her supply of lives, and the "2" button to jump over enemies or on them and to progress across gaps or ascend to higher parts of the level. "I'm pretty sure I can get through this by taking my time, Winter," she said taking a cleansing breath, "I'll be alright."

Winter grinned faintly, "Best wishes, Ruby," She said.

Ruby's conquest of the level was actually flawless, though she had a slow start with timing a moving platform just right. After that, however, she managed to get through to the flagpole at the end without losing a life. "Your turn now, partner," She said to Winter.

Winter put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "You did well," she said, "You managed to make it through fairly quick in spite of this being your first time playing through. Ready for round two?" Ruby nodded, "Alright, no backing down."

 _That's the spirit, Ruby,_ Cy thought to himself.

"It only gets a bit more difficult from here," Nora said, "Cy's levels are designed to feed off the difficulty where the last level left off. Even Winter reaches the point where she needs to punch a pillow, or even scream into it."

Umbra snickered, "I usually make her a Shirley Temple to calm her down."

"I've got the ingredients for one in the fridge, Umbra." Ivy remarked.

"I might need one after the fourth level," Winter said, "so start mixing it up, please Umbra?"

Umbra laugh, "I figured you'd ask that eventually, Winter." He said as he got up and went toward the kitchen.

Azure got up and followed, "I'll get Winter's favorite glass."

Winter blushed, "That's very considerate, Azure, thank you."

Ruby looked to Azure and back to Winter. She got up on the couch next to Cy and whispered, "Is there something going on between those two?"

"Winter's got a pretty heavy crush on Azure," Cy replied, "Azure's got feelings for her too, but he's a little oblivious to her advances sometimes."

Ruby hummed and sat back down next to Winter, "If I were you, Winter," Ruby said in a low voice, "I'd be a bit more obvious about your advances to Azure."

Winter blushed a bright red, "I swear, Cypress Whitemane, I'm gonna make you the most sour pitcher of lemonade I can the next time I come over and watch you drink every drop." She said loud enough for the occupants of the living room to hear it.

"Oh, boy," Luna said, "now you've done it Cy."

"We're never gonna hear the end of this," Nora said.

"It's not like we're not all thinking it's been kept secret long enough," Ivy said.

Winter gave a harrumph and continued onto the second level, _Terrific, Cy,_ She thought sarcarstically, _you make it go from platformer to the an elevator parkour segment instantly. Only you would be this evil in a team trial against the likes of me, but to force such pixelated malignance on Ruby, oh I'm going to make that lemonade_ **extra** _sour just to make sure you fully comprehend my displeasure at this unwarranted attempt to beat me._ Winter could boast from dusk 'til dawn on how well she did with simple platforming games. But, Cy knew very well that the heiress was not very gifted when she was faced with moving platforms, and as such he did his ample best to capitalize upon this weakness in the girl's pool of gaming talents at every chance he could get.

Ruby had no choice but to admit it, Cy's skill at designing challenging environments like this. "Okay, Winter, knock 'em dead."

Winter steeled herself and took off through the moving gauntlet of platforms. It seemed easy until she got half way through the gauntlet, when black bullets started flying toward her. "What th… seriously, Cy, on the second level?"

"All's fair in the trial, Winter," Cy replied, "You know how I like to ramp the difficulty up half way through a level."

"I know," Winter growled, "but seriously, did you need to set loose a hail of Bullet Bills on me in a gauntlet of elevators?"

"You would rather I had used Lakitu and Spikies?" Cy asked, "Whoops, spoilers."

Winter huffed, "I hope this is almost…" She made it to the flag pole at the end, "…Ugh, that was brutal."

"And just in time," Azure replied as he handed Winter the glass, "One Shirley Temple for the lovely lady."

"Bless you, Azure Aquio," The heiress said, "J'adore." As she took a sip

"De nada, Princesa de Nieve," Azure replied raising a blush on the white haired girl's face.

Ruby smiled as she commenced her run of the gauntlet. Winter watched the girl jump effortlessly across the gaps between the platforms. The moment the Bullet Bills began flying toward her, she started playing not by immediate impulse, but by timing her jumps with not only the movement of the platforms, but also the approaching bullets. _Take it one move at a time, Ruby,_ She said calmly in her head, _just a few more of these platforms and I'm finished. Just gotta keep it together._ She kept leaping through the gauntlet with relative ease, her eyes never leaving the screen. As the clock reached the twenty-five second mark, she jumped to the very top of the flag pole and completed the level, her completion was rewarded with the burst of three fireworks. "What was that all about?" She asked.

"When you finish the level, there's a slight chance of fireworks going off over the castle," Winter said.

"Each firework gives you bonus points." Luna added.

"Huh, nice," Ruby said with a grin.

Winter finished her drink, "Feel better, Winter," Azure asked.

Winter sighed in satisfaction, "Yes, Azure," She said, "Thank you, so much." She blushed a little. She felt a bit more relaxed. If only she knew what was in store for her. She started on a single block over lava in a three dimensional castle. This indicated to Winter that Cy was only testing his victims in the first two rounds, and now he was getting ready to unleash the reason why none of his fellow gamers ever challenged him. When he wanted to, Cypress Whitemane could be as evil as a criminal mastermind in a James Bond film. There was a long narrow corridor five block lengths ahead of Winter's starting position, but the heiress had known the boy with strawberry blonde hair since she was seven, and in that time she learned that when you play against a child with a love of puzzles and platformer games, and couple that with the fact that Cy took cues from different maps on YouTube play throughs of this particular game, and she started cursing her teammate for choosing Cy as their opponent. _Knowing Cy,_ She groaned, _that corridor is most likely peaceful for the first five blocks and then there'll be a timing puzzle with fireballs._ She jumped across the gap and sure enough, a cascading wall of fireballs shot up from the lava below and immediately smashed Winter's hopes of getting through the level. She took a breath and began running through the gauntlet as fireballs arced on either side of her and as the hall ended, she jumped across a wide gap and landed on a moving platform.

 _Ugh, Cypress you're truly the worst._ Winter growled as she jumped onto the next platform. From there, the movement puzzle made a comeback, in the form of fire sticks. _I hate you, Cy, HATE YOU!_ Winter internally screamed in disgust as she made her way through the puzzle. She leaped from one platform and landed on a single floating block, and Winter immediately saw a fireball jump out of the lava pool below followed by two more fireballs following suit. _A jump timing puzzle… why must this boy who's been my friend for years torture me with these variant tests?_

Ruby watched intensely and memorized the patterns of the jumping puzzles and felt the rage in Winter's exhale once she made it to the end of the level. "You okay, Winter?" The brunette asked.

Winter huffed, "I'd feel better if I didn't think this series of levels was meant as some bit of revenge." She shout Cy a death glare.

"Winter, I promise, I'm not trying to get revenge on you for anything," Cypress replied, "I even told you that I didn't think anything bad about what happened."

"I'm just gonna start the level, if that's okay?" Ruby said hesitantly as she began her run. Winter looked in shock as the brunette maneuvered through the timing puzzles with relative ease. It was like the timings didn't even faze her a bit.

"How do you learn these patterns in such a brief amount of time?" Luna asked dumbfounded, "Even Winter has trouble running these courses, meanwhile you're breezing through them like they're a walk in the park."

Ruby shrugged, "I guess it comes with practice of memorizing patterns throughout the long nights."

"Long nights," Umbra asked, "Wait let me guess, extreme photosensitivity?"

"Yes," Ruby nodded, "Because of that, I'm pretty much limited to going out at night."

"Photo-wha-wha?" Nora asked, "I don't know what that is."

"It's an allergy to sunlight in which the afflicted person suffers severe burns when exposed to direct sunlight." Ivy said, "With that condition, it's no wonder you're out so late Ruby."

Ruby frowned, "I've managed to adjust to the conditions of that ailment, as well as the consequences."

"Like what for instance," Ivy asked.

"Like not being able to attend school," Ruby said, "That and not being able to enjoy a sunny day without searing pain all over my body."

Luna frowned, "I've heard that's a rare condition that's pretty hard to live with, but is accepted by some groups."

"Like who," Ruby perked up as she finished the level.

"Like us, duh," Nora said, "We're nice people who accept everyone, so long as they're nice and accepting toward others, regardless of differences."

"That's right," Winter smiled as she received the controller from her teammate, "Now then, onto that final level of this brief challenge." She said pressing the button to start the next level. To the Schnee heiress' dismay, it was a gauntlet of platforming, timing, and her least favorite enemy from the Mario franchise, Chain Chomps and saw blades on movement tracks. "I'm dead."

"If you forfeit," Azure said, "you've gotta confess the truth about anything the challenged wants to hear."

Winter blushed, "L-l-let's get on with it." She stammered. She began jumping up the platforms, avoiding the fireballs jumping out of the pixelated lava beneath her. She actually felt sweat dripping from her palms as she move toward a conveyer belt of Chain Chomps and saw blades. As she navigated her way to the finish line, she felt her body start to tremble, and then the whistle sounded to indicate her moment of triumph. She felt her body heat up instantaneously and sweat condensing on her brow. "There are times when I wonder why we became friends, Cypress Alexander Whitemane."

"Because our parents were best friends when they were kids," Cy replied.

"And because Cy and Azure poured a full garbage can on those jerky Malachite twins when they tried to ruin your seventh birthday party." Luna said.

"A full garbage can with scraps left over from the IHOP breakfast rush," Nora laughed, "Those two were covered from head to toe."

Cypress felt a little bad about that, "I think Mel may have forgiven us a little bit, though," He said.

Azure felt the same, "She did say she'd lighten up on us during Miss Nikos' Math class," he admitted.

"Say what?" Luna, Nora, and Winter all asked in unison.

"She just wants us to help her pass so she can get to high school," Cypress said.

"I can see why she did that," Azure said, "I mean, she's been there for three years, and Miltia's a bit too egotistical to ask for our help."

The five friends nodded in agreement. Ruby kept her focus on the screen as her fingers flew across the buttons of the Wii U pad. The group was impressed at the brunette's prowess, "I thought she said that she'd never played these types of games before." Winter said to Cy.

"She's probably a fast learner," Cy replied.

They were right. The victory fanfare played as Ruby crossed the finish line and heaved a heavy sigh. "How many more of those do I have to do?" Ruby asked.

"You've got one left, Ruby," Azure replied, "The bad news is that now that you're into the final round, you're going in blind. Winter isn't going to be going first."

Ruby simply gulped in fright, "I've come too far to back out now. So let's do it."

* * *

 **Those of you who are gonna bash me on the lack of description of the levels that Ruby and Winter had to play through, I'm not apologizing. I've truthfully never played Super Mario Maker, I'm more into watching people rage quit on the hard levels for amusement. I'm going to make the next chapter shorter because of the time constraint, but the July chapter will have a bit more length to it.**

 **Also, special announcement, I've started doing an art vlog and a let's play series over on my YouTube channel. If you guys want to watch me draw in a timelapse while listening to relaxing, edgy, or upbeat music, or watch me play games on steam, look up bubba485 on YouTube, your likes, dislikes, and feedback on my videos really help out more than you know.**

 **Well, that's all the time I have for you right now. If you liked this, let me know in a nice little review. If you want to follow me for more content, follow my account for updates on this and my other stories.**

 **Until next time,**

 **~Cluny**


	7. Final Round - Ruby VS Cypress

The rain outside started to pick up. The sound of thunder added to the impending level of tension in the air. Ruby stared at the mini map view of the level. It was almost like a death maze, saw blades on the floor, flame jets along the ceiling that left little to no room for hesitation. There were question mark blocks at the corners of the map, "What are those question mark blocks?" The brunette inquired.

"Those are item blocks," Luna replied, "they provide you with items to improve your chances of winning."

"Oh~" Ruby hummed, "so they give you things like weapons 'n' stuff."

"More or less," Ivy said, "there are some blocks that give you extra lives. Though I've never known my brother to be nice enough to add a one-up mushroom to his level designs."

"Not necessarily the most forgiving of people, are you Cypress," Ruby said looking over her shoulder at the boy.

"You expected a trial to be easy?" Cy questioned with a smirk on his face.

"Fair enough, I guess," Ruby sighed, "But, I hope this is the last bit of the challenge I'll have to do. I would really like to further indulge in this game night."

"The Gauntlet is always the last level of a new member's trial," Azure said, "Sorry, Ruby. But, look at it this way, you're nearly done." The brunette shot the blue haired boy a death glare that chilled him to the core.

"Ruby, don't stare him into the grave while I'm sitting right here," Winter said. She leaned in toward the brunette and whispered, "I'll get him back for you later."

Ruby huffed, "It's alright." _I'll get him later the way no one else can._ She started the level. It was another three dimensional level in the lava lit castle. _Terrific,_ She groaned internally, _another dismal level in the foreboding castle._ She started wall jumping her way up to an item block and jumped headfirst into it. A small red and white flower popped out of the top.

"That's a fire flower," Nora said, "take it! It'll make getting through this level easier."

"It's true," Luna nodded, "it helped me when I ran The Gauntlet."

"Just press the '1' button," Winter said, "it'll make you shoot a fireball and clear enemies out of your way."

"Good, that's just what I need." Ruby said. She began running through the timing puzzle, flawlessly, and jumped over two saw blades near the far wall of the top of the labyrinth. From there, she jumped and slid down the wall on the end of the timing challenge and ran to the bottom of the item. She jumped down into the depths and collected several golden coins.

"I remember seeing someone try to beat this level on YouTube once," Luna whispered to Azure and Nora, "they never made it this far on their first try."

Ruby gave a faint smirk of confidence, but her eyes and focus was centered on the maze. She ran through the siege of monsters and traps. "Who is this girl?" Nora asked in a whisper, "She claims to be a novice, but she plays like a major league gamer on Twitch." Ruby had no idea what Nora meant by that, but she took a wild guess that it was a good thing.

Spinies, Koopa Troopas, Chain Chomps, and Piranha Plants that spat fireballs put her sense of perception through its paces. Ruby could feel her brain going into overdrive trying to process the storm of events taking place on the screen in front of her. If her millennium old heart were beating, it'd sound like an Irish dance troop after each member downed a growler of extra strength black coffee as part of a deranged dare. She slid through to the bottom of the level and sprinted to the finish through a gap in a series of flame streams. Finally, she made it to the finish line and jumped to the flag at the end. She heaved a heavy sigh, "Cypress, you're a maniac." She groaned.

Winter put her hand on the brunette's shoulder, "Ruby," the girl turned to face the heiress, "that was incredible!" She leaned forward and hugged Ruby tightly, "No one's EVER been able to do that in one go."

"Am I part of this little group now?" Ruby asked in slight shock at Winter's choice of action. She didn't mind affection, but she wasn't used to being hugged by anyone, especially someone that reminded her of someone she knew.

Azure knelt down next to the embracing girls, "You most certainly are, Ruby." He said, "Uh Winter, I think she's gotten the point."

"Sorry, sorry, sorry." The heiress said meek tone of voice.

"Feisty as and awkward as Mei," Cy said, "That's our Winter Schnee."

"I-I have, n-no idea what you're talking about." Winter said a light shade of red showing on her face.

"Then why are you blushing," Luna asked slyly.

Ruby couldn't help but start giggling. She forgot what it was like to have human friends who could actually fill her with enough mirth to make her laugh. "Are you guys always like this?" She asked as she continued chortling.

"Yes," Nora said, "yes we are. Thank you."

Ruby smiled ad looked around the room, "Well, is there another part to this initiation," She asked, "Or is that all I need to do?"

Azure looked to Cypress and Umbra, "Gentlemen, what shall we do?"

"Care to hunt down a Rathalos or a Hellblade?" Azure asked.

"If we're playing that," said Nora, "I'm gonna need to break out my secret weapon." She got up and went over to a pink backpack with a personalized logo hanging from a keychain. She pulled out a pink Nalgene bottle and a black tub with a pink label that read G Fuel. "Gotta make sure I'm conscious during this whole fight."

The others went to their respective bags and grabbed bottles of water and their energizer of choice. Umbra chose G Fuel with a red label, Azure chose a pack of grape flavored Gatorade, and Cy went with Glacier Freeze.

"Light weights," Nora said.

"Some of us want to get a little sleep tonight, Nora," Cy replied.

"Haha, sleep is for the weak," Nora said with a manic smile on her face as she shook her bottle to mix in the light pink powder.

"Alright dudes and dudette," Umbra said, "Flying dragon with poison laced talons, or burning wyvern with a blade tail?"

"Hellblade," All three of the younger gamers said.

"Roger that," Umbra laughed, "let's gear up."

* * *

 **What's up readers, it's Cluny. I know, this is a short chapter, but I've got stuff I need to do outside of here. However, I'm not going to stop with my writing. I've got a schedule that I'm following to keep myself going. I've got a YouTube channel that I'm keeping up with, look me up, bubba485, I've got an Art Vlog and a Let's Play series I'm updating as often as I can, with a second Let's Play series on the way.**

 **Also, for those of you who are in the DC and DMV area, I'll be attending Awesome Con in Washington D.C. June 16th through June 18th. Look for a guy with glasses in a grey wool cap with a Pikachu pin with a grey satchel over his shoulder. That's me ^_^ I look forward to meeting anyone.**

 **In the mean time, those of you who read Melting the Ice, hopefully by next week the next chapter, Flight of the Raven, will be up. And as always, reviews are appreciated but not mandatory ^_^**

 **'Til next time,**

 **~Cluny**


	8. Umbral Knowledge

Game night continued until two in the morning. Ruby and Cy were the last ones awake, but Cy was barely keeping his eyes open. The vampire girl helped her human friend to his room. She laid him down on his bed, "Thanks for coming, Ruby," The boy said, "are you leaving?"

Ruby shook her head, "If it's alright, I'll leave in the morning before the sun rises," She said, "think you'll be awake by then?"

"I'll wake up long enough to see you out," Cy replied.

Ruby smiled, "Sleep well, Cypress, I'll just lay down on the floor."

"There's a sleeping bag and a mattress pad in my closet," Cy said, "Azure used to use them…" He yawned, "… when we had sleepovers when we were younger."

Ruby went over to the closet and, sure enough, there on the floor was a blue sleeping bag and a green folding mattress pad. She laid both of them out on the floor and lay down. "Hey, Cypress," She said.

"Huh," The young boy asked sleepily, "wuzzat?"

"Thank you for all the fun tonight," Ruby said, "I haven't had that much fun in centuries."

"Just how old are you," Cy asked as he rolled over to the side of the bed closest to Ruby, "out of curiosity."

"You'd better brace yourself," Ruby said.

"I can take it," Cy said.

"I'm one thousand fifteen years old," Ruby said.

Cy was stunned, "Wow, okay maybe I can't take it."

Ruby chuckled, "Yeah, not many people can." She said, "And I don't drain people of their blood just to slay them."

"What do you mean?" Cy asked.

"Most vampires become so enraptured with their powers," Ruby replied, "that they kill people in droves and drink their blood as if it were soup or an all-you-can-eat buffet. Others, like myself, still have a bit of humanity left. We hate that we need to kill in order to survive. So much that our souls, what's left of them, are in constant pain. That's why, in order to feed, we rummage through shanty towns and homeless communities we look for those who are out of hope and we set them free from the unbearable agony."

"So you kill out of mercy?" Cy asked.

"It doesn't help much," Ruby said, "but it takes some of the sting away."

Cy thought back to the night they met, "What about when someone willingly offers up blood?" He asked.

"I don't really know," Ruby asked, "I don't remember anyone telling me about what happened if a human offered blood out of kindness."

Cy rolled on to his back, "I think we'll find out, but one more person needs to know about your… condition."

Ruby frowned, "I thought you promised not to tell anyone about what I am."

"Well, my friends all seemed to enjoy your company tonight," Cy interjected, "I mean, Luna and Nora took to you pretty quick…" He paused, "then again they may have just thought you were cute or something."

"Cypress," Ruby said, "I've shown interest toward girls before… a millennium of wandering throughout the world brings about all sorts of curiosity."

"So you've… y-you know?" Cypress asked as his face started to redden from the embarrassment of realizing the type of personal question he was asking.

Ruby giggled slightly, "No, Cypress," she said, "nothing past a hug or two and the occasional passing glance."

"Not even a kiss," Cy asked.

"Not a one," Ruby replied.

"That makes two of us," Cy huffed in embarrassment. He yawned and looked down at the brunette laying in the sleeping bag, "Have you ever wanted to kiss anyone?" He inquired.

"Nope," Ruby shook her head, "No one's ever interested me in that way before."

Cy rolled back onto his back and gave a big yawn, "Have a good night, Ruby," he said.

"Sleep well, Cypress." Ruby said. And thus the hours began to tick by and the rainy weather outside kept up at a steady rate.

* * *

The morning came more quickly than Cy had anticipated. He groggily sat up in his bed and looked at his alarm clock. It was nearly six in the morning, "Hey, Ruby," he said, "the sun rises in an hour."

"I'd better start heading home," Ruby said. They got up and carefully crept through the apartment to the front door and Cy turned the knob, "I'll see you tonight?" She asked.

"Maybe," Cy replied, "I've got to open up a bit to this person about you first. Trust me, they know enough about vampires, even facts that I never knew."

Ruby's eyes narrowed into a stare that seemed almost predatory. But after looking over Cy's half-awake eyes, she could tell one thing, he knew the person he had in mind was not going to try anything stupid on either of them, "Alright, but remember, one person, or I'm saying farewell to Vale and you." She said as she walked out the door.

"I promise, the person I have in mind isn't going to tell anyone." Cy whispered to himself.

* * *

Ruby made it to her home in the Inner City Forest with her vampiric speed. She looked at the break in the trees, "Okay, it's a bit under an hour until sunrise," she said, "I have enough time to get ready for bed."

Ruby's millennium of extra life gave her enough time to experiment and discover innovative ways to make up for the lack of everyday necessities. Bathing was something she found easy in most locations. So long as there was tree cover, a wooden crate and a carefully folded and contorted waterproof tarp made a decent bath. Soap wasn't hard to find, any collection area set up by a well-organized shanty town had large piles that were replenished by the local law enforcement. She took a nice relaxing bath and emptied out the water into a large sewer drain. She had little need for modesty as she walked back inside and up to her bedroom.

She picked out a clean set of clothes and lay down in her bed. The events of the previous evening still played through her head. The games, the laughter, the excitement, the fact that… none of them thought she was strange beyond reason. "What a bunch of strange humans," She said as she looked up at the ceiling. A small smile crept across her face, "I hope I can have that much fun again soon." She said as she closed her eyes and drifted off, her hands rubbing along her sides at how snuggly her clothes felt.

* * *

Two hours after Cy had let Ruby out, Ivy woke up. She went into Cy's room, the boy was fast asleep with his sleeping bag and mattress laid out next to his bed. _I see,_ She thought to herself, _Cy and Ruby slept in here last night, and she must have left earlier to get home before the sun came up._ She smiled, _At least you made her night enjoyable, little brother._ She walked up to the bed and nudged him awake, "Hey, Cy, wake up," She said in a gentle voice, "It's breakfast time, and I'm making your favorite."

Cy yawned as he slowly sat up in bed, "Blueberry pancakes with honey?" He asked sleepily.

"Mmhm," Ivy said, "You'd better get to the table before Nora gets to them. You know how she is around pancakes."

Cy hurried out of bed and into the kitchen. No one else aside from Umbra was awake. "Mornin' little dude," He said, "You and Ruby sleep well before you saw her out this morning?"

"Yeah," Cy replied, "Hey, do you think I could talk to you about something later?"

Umbra smiled and nodded, "Sure thing, my man, whatever it is, I'll provide a little needed insight."

Cy smiled, "Thanks Umbra."

Ivy walked into the kitchen and set Cy's meal on the table. "I smell pancakes!" Nora said springing to her feet in the living room, "I'm _so hungry_ ," She said with a manic grin on her face.

"I'll be done with your pancakes soon, Nora," Ivy said stepping back into the kitchen, "And don't you even think about touching Cy's. You know what happened last time you mixed blueberries and your G-Fuel."

Nora's eyes widened, "Ugh, you don't need to remind me, my stomach already does that."

Luna suddenly lurched forward and wrapped her arms around Nora's lower torso. Her still unconscious hands rubbing along the redhead's core muscles. "Mmh, Nora's abs," She slurred in lucid affection, "so firm and chiseled, 'n' sexy~."

A hot blush ran over Nora's face, "Can one of you please get her off of me?" She pleaded.

Luna's hands brushed upward toward Nora's breast, "And yet," She slurred again, "she's always so~ perky."

Umbra lurched forward and grabbed Luna's wandering hands. He hummed loud enough to be heard by the pseudo conscious girl who was carefully slumped back onto the couch behind her. Nora walked over to her seat with her hands over her chest, "I can handle her when she's affectionate and awake," She said, "but when she starts feeling me up in her sleep, I can't help but remember what Ferrina said she'd do to me."

"I can unnershtand wot ew mean," Cy said before swallowing a bite of his pancakes, "A night in lock up would have been good enough, but two nights in solitary confinement, that'd definitely be painful for you."

"Yeah," Nora sighed, "especially since I'd be without Luna."

"The age difference really isn't much of a factor with you two, is it?" Cy asked.

Ivy placed a plate of six large pancakes on the table in front of Nora. "Not at all," The redhead stated before digging into her pancakes, "it's Luna's extreme touchy-feely tendencies that cause a few problems."

Cy nodded, "You'd think the older one in the relationship would have those problems," He said taking another bite from his pancakes.

"Luna's overly affectionate in her sleep," Umbra said, "and that's mostly when Nora's around."

"I think that's mainly because she's so laid back," Ivy said, "she's constantly keeping her emotions in check when she's conscious and her unconscious mind sees sleep as a way of letting it out."

"I'm not gonna doubt that," Umbra said. Winter, Luna, and Azure woke up and joined them. The group happily ate their breakfasts and went about the normal procedure of post-game night clean up and packing.

Winter looked around, "Did Ruby leave already?"

"Yeah," Cy replied, "she wanted to get home before the sun came up."

"Maybe I could spring for some anti-UV clothing," Winter suggested.

"That might not be the best, dudette," Umbra replied, "photosensitivity of that nature is like putting a seat belt on a dolphin."

Cy cringed, "Yeah, I offered UV clothes and she refused."

Umbra's eyebrow fidgeted slightly but no one noticed. Nothing got past the laid back guru of seemingly useless knowledge, but when things really counted, he was the group's go to purveyor of interesting facts. But the way Cy worded his request, Umbra just archived the thought and decided to come back to it later.

* * *

About an hour passed, in that time Cy volunteered to accompany Umbra to the book store. Tukson, the manager, welcomed them, "There's my Assistant Manager, accompanied by one of my favorite regular customers. Good morning to both of you."

"Morning Boss Man," Umbra waved, "little dude's here to help us organize our stock."

"Ready to help, sir," Cy said.

"Glad to hear it," Tukson smiled as he turned around and headed into his office, "If you two need me, let me know."

"Roger that, man," Umbra replied as he and Cy went to looking over the shelved books. "So, dude, you gonna tell me about that vampire girl or not?"

Cy came to a dead stop, "How did you?"

"Sensitivity to sunlight, nocturnal lifestyle, homeless – so you both claim, that tattered looking red cape," Umbra listed, "Need I go on?"

Cy rolled his eyes, "I should've known you'd figure it out." He sighed and took the next half-an-hour explaining what happened between himself and Ruby.

"Huh, so she was weirded out about eating human food," Umbra said as he arranged a shelf, "Well, you did offer her blood, granted it was a small amount. I did read one book a few years ago that said when a vampire at the point of starvation is offered blood, they will metabolize the blood at a slower rate than blood from a slaying. A small amount lasts pretty long, a fortnight, or two weeks. They'll be able to eat human food and hold it down… she must not have known that."

"Is there any more information on offered blood's effects that you can think of off the top of your head?" Cy asked.

"I'll leave that another time, little dude." Umbra said, "But for right now, we've got a job to do."


	9. Reflection and Decision

Ruby awakened that night snuggling… nothing. Peculiar thing, she could feel a glowing warmth in her chest. She hadn't felt this way in so long. She rolled out of bed and heard a knock at the door, "Now who could that be," She asked sniffing the air, "Oh, right, him."

She walked downstairs and opened the door, "Cypress Whitemane," She said looking the strawberry blonde in the face, "What brings you here?"

"Bringing you information," Cy said, "but the only slight drawback was Umbra wanting to come meet you in person." Ruby frowned, "But I convinced him to wait at a bench near the entrance to the forest."

Ruby crossed her arms, "How'd he take the fact that I'm not exactly one hundred percent human?" She inquired bluntly.

"That's the scary part actually," Cy replied, "He said he already knew." The brunette vampire raised an eyebrow, "He just pieced together the information in his head. That's just what he does, I guess."

"He's spent a little too much time around you, oh Puzzle Meister," Ruby smirked.

Cy scratched his head shyly, "Yeah, I think I may have."

"Well, shall we go find him so he can tell me what I need to know?" Ruby asked.

"Y-yeah," Cy said, "you might want to put on a sweater or something first though. It's a little chilly out here."

"I'll be fine, Cypress," The brunette winked as she sauntered, "I am a vampire after all. I could walk out here stark naked with six inches of snow on the ground if I wanted and not be bothered." She looked back at the boy whose face turn a shade of bright red and crept back up behind, "Letting your imagination run wild with that little image, pup?" She teased in a whisper that made her young visitor hyperventilate. She turned and continued walking toward the entrance to the forest, "Consider that my revenge for you teasing me last night." She called back to him, "You can expect a lot of that from a girl who's lived as long as I have. And believe me, my innocence sort of left me a long time ago."

Cy's blush deepened as he turned and bolted after the brunette, "You had me fooled," He shouted after finally catching his breath. "Just don't do that sort of thing around my friends, please."

"Oh~" Ruby mused, "Little Cypress only wants little old me to tease him when he has me alone." She shuffled in front of him while walking backwards. She leaned in and fluttered her eyelashes, "Is that what you really~ want?" She asked with a mischievous lilt in her voice that increased the rush of blood to Cy's cheeks.

"I-I-I d-don't know." Cypress said unable to break contact with the impish girl's hypnotic silver eyes.

"Your voice may be unsure," Ruby teased as she danced to walk just behind his ear, "But your eyes are screaming for it," She whispered. Her teasing raised another deep blush on Cy's face. She listened to the raging thump from the boy's chest, "And your heart agrees."

Cy halted, "Could you please stop that for right now?" He demanded as he got ahold of himself.

Ruby smiled, "Only because you asked," She kept walking, "I haven't had someone so modest to tease since the eighteen hundreds. I'm just making up for lost time with that."

"I thought you said no man ever caught your interest," Cy stated.

"And I meant it," Ruby replied, "but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy teasing them and making their young imaginations catch fire. If it were your friends Nora or Luna, I'd be making them blush too."

"You should have seen Luna trying to get a little hands-on with Nora this morning," Cy chuckled.

Ruby's silver eyes lit up as a smile of intrigue blossomed across her face, "Mind giving me the reenactment?" She asked with a flirtatious muse in her voice.

Cy shut his eyes, "I just asked you to stop that," He growled in frustration.

"I can't help it," Ruby laughed, "you're too easy to get a rise out of."

* * *

Umbra sat on a bench looking up at the night sky when he heard Ruby and Cy approach him, "You two little dudes certainly took your time," He said, "What's up, Cy, didja catch a quick smooch from your little girlfriend?"

"She teased me enough on the way here, Umbra," Cy blushed.

"I was only getting started, Cypress Whitemane," Ruby winked in the boy's direction.

"Take it easy with the teasing when Cy's sister is around, Ruby," Umbra said, "She maybe a human like he and I, but she's also a medical professional. I've seen her scare off a group of muggers with a bottle of pepper spray."

"She also practices a little of the Marquise of Queensbury Rules," Cy added, "The art of Fisticuffs."

"Still no match for a vampire," Ruby shrugged.

"She keeps a cross necklace round her neck at all times," Cy stated. Hearing this made Ruby freeze up, "Looks like what they say is true about vampires having an aversion to crosses," Cy said, "Two points for Bram Stoker over Stephanie Meyer."

"I've never found myself on the opposing end of a cross before," Ruby shivered, "but I'd rather that not happen."

"I keep one on me at all times, Ruby," Cy stated, "a silver one."

"Don't use it on me unless there's something seriously wrong, Cypress." Ruby pleaded.

Cy smiled, "I hope I never have to."

Ruby smiled, "I can actually appreciate that, Cypress."

Umbra's stomach growled, "You little dudes want to go grab a bite?"

Ruby shook her head, "I'm not hungry for bloo…" She stopped midsentence, "wait, you mean human food, right?"

"There's a diner where they serve good food just through the east entrance," Umbra said, "I'll buy."

Ruby smiled, "I think I'll take you up on that offer, Umbra," She shot Cy a devious look, "As long as I sit next to the shy one here." She winked sending a chill up the boy's spine. Ruby may not have been planning anything past just a few playful teases, but she enjoyed Cy's reactions. The way he reacted showed that part of him enjoyed her teasing, while the embarrassment showed that he wasn't too appreciative with it. But, in spite of this, the vampire could tell that her object of mild torment enjoyed letting her play her game and that he'd be thinking up puzzles to give her some payback.

"I-I'll go too…" Cy blushed, "I-I mean, as long as Ruby doesn't tease me too much."

"I'll save it for when we're alone," Ruby winked flirtatiously.

* * *

Ramsey's Diner in Vale's Eastern District was a place where Cy and his friends frequented when they got together. The establishment was not only known for being the highest rated eatery in the county. It was the oldest eatery on the books in the tristate area. It stare out as a public house when the town was founded and grew with the town, every time it was passed down to a new manager it went through a bit of a facelift. Each new head of management had preferences that required change, the latest of whom had a soft spot for old time Americana – burgers, hotdogs, fries, and milkshakes. In spite of the foods they served, one could never go as far as to call the establishment a "greasy spoon." It actually had clean floors, windows, seats and tables, and the bathrooms were immaculate with a subtle yet fresh pine scent.

The owner, known only as Geoff, and his wife ran a tight ship, but treated the staff and customers like their family. Cy and his friends were some of his favorite customers. "What's up, Geoff my man," Umbra asked as he, Cy, and Ruby entered the diner, "got a new customer for ya."

"Ayo, Welcome to Ramsey's," Geoff called from the kitchen, "where the food's good, the company's good, and a good time is always had by all." He popped out of the kitchen and greeted his regulars, "What'll it be tonight, Umbra?"

"The usual for me," Umbra said.

"I'll have my usual too," Cy added, "and a hamburger and a milkshake for my friend here."

"What kinda milkshake?" Geoff asked, "we've got chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and the Flavor of the Day."

Ruby raised an eyebrow, "What's the Flavor of the Day," she inquired.

"Dark chocolate mocha with coffee beans," Geoff replied.

Umbra gave a subtle shake of the head indicating that the flavor of the day was not a good idea. "I think I'll go with the strawberry milkshake."

"Eh, suit yourself," Geoff said as he walked off. "Why does no one ever go for the Flavor of the Day when dark chocolate mocha comes around?" Ruby heard him ask with her enhanced hearing.

"Why _does_ no one ever go for that flavor," She asked.

"It's too much caffeine for one shake," Cy replied.

"What do you mean," Ruby asked again.

"Chocolate already has caffeine in it, and so does mocha," Umbra repled, "That plus the coffee beans on top causes dehydration along with a an elevated heart rate. It's a total bummer for the dude that suffers that kind of torture."

Ruby's eyes widened, "Sounds really bad."

"It is," Cy nodded.

"The only one who never had trouble with the effects of a caffeine overload was Nora." Umbra said, "Only thing that happened was that she got all huggy with Luna."

Geoff brought out the meal, "I hope you three enjoy your meal." He said, "And, Cy, tell your sister that Griffon says thanks for that medicine. She has a cousin in Vacuo who was hurt from a few desperate members of the White Fang."

"I guess the cousin asked for something to help them recover," Cy asked.

"Yeah, and showing a photo of them and Griffon helped a lot." Geoff replied as he walked away.

"So what's happening in Vacuo," Ruby asked.

"Big gang war," Umbra replied, "Two factions of the White Fang, one led by Sienna Khan who wishes to change the face of the gang to meet the old standards – i.e. helping the underpriviledged, and Adam Taurus who wishes to reshape the group into more of a militia."

Ruby's eyes went wide as she sipped from her shake, "I knew someone who knew Adam Taurus." Cy and Umbra nearly choked on their food, "But that was… about twenty years ago. I was passing through Vacuo on my way here and I met a woman named Blake who was part of the White Fang for a while."

"You knew a member of the White Fang," Cy asked in a hushed whisper.

"Yeah," Ruby replied, "it wasn't a street gang back then though. It was coalition for equal opportunity to those living in the inner cities of the tri-county area. They turned criminal when the old leader, Blake's father, stepped down."

"That was only ten years ago." Umbra said, "I think the old leader was named Ghira Belladonna. He helped get Tukson, my boss, his job at the book shop. I haven't heard much from them in a while."

"There are rumors going around that Ghira and his wife moved to Australia," Cy said, "it's a little unnerving to be honest."

"A continent that has mostly inhospitable badlands doesn't seem to be the best place to relocate to," Umbra stated, "but I hear that they've been helping out the underprivileged with inhospitable situations there."

Ruby looked at Umbra, "Is there any news about their daughter?" She asked.

"Well, there is a Blake Belladonna living here in Vale," Umbra said, "her son, Dusk, is the leader of the White Fang faction here. He's not an extremist though, like Adam Taurus. He's actually very much like Ghira."

Ruby smiled, "Any idea where Blake might be?"

"Sorry, Ruby," Umbra frowned, "I have no idea where she lives. And she only comes to the shop around noon for a day shift every other day. I don't mean to be a total bummer, but that's all I know about her."

Ruby frowned as she continued eating, "At least I know she's alright." She said.

After the trio had dinner, Cy and Umbra escorted Ruby to the entrance of the Inner City Forest. "Thank you again, Umbra and Cypress." She smiled.

"Not a prob, Rubes," Umbra said, "Have a good night. Cy, I've gotta get you home before your sister has my head on a spit, little dude."

"Okay," Cy huffed, "I'll see you later Ruby."

"You'd better, Cypress," The silver-eyed vampire winked, "We _are_ friends after all."

Cy blushed, "Yeah."

* * *

Ivy was busy looking over her reports she'd just received from her associates in Vacuo who were told to stay behind and monitor the victims of the gang war she'd helped treat. She was happy to know that they were in no serious danger from their injuries. But the grim reality of the situation was that all her team was doing was patching up the hard headed fighters who would hit the streets and go out for a revenge hit against the opposing faction and put more lives at risk while the weaker ones were left onsite where anyone from the opposing faction could simply slip in and finish the job at the most inopportune moment. She felt less like a hero, and more like a tool to help fuel the fires of this underground war.

Vacuo had long been a city where the lines between right and wrong were blurred to the point that even the law enforcement could be paid off to look the other way. Ivy, on the other hand was safe, as were her team and patients. She looked at an officer once and asked how he'd feel if one of his children ended up on a table with their life in her hands and he wasn't going to lift a finger to keep her or the other doctors from being gunned down. The officer turned as white as the sterile bed linens and passed this along to the other officers with Ivy present, they all felt the weight of the young woman's disgust to their ease of looking the other way should anyone slip them a cool wad of cash. One member of the White Fang tried this and ended up walking in on Ivy and her team during a delicate procedure. "Get out of here, only authorized personnel are allowed back here," Ivy growled from under her surgical mask.

The man pulled a gun, "I'm the one callin' the shots here, bitch," he said, "back away from my friend or I'm blowing you away!"

Ivy looked at him in disbelief. She took note of the colored bandana on his arm, she recognized him as a member of Sienna Khan's faction. She knew that Khan's subordinates were not one's to let their comrades die and slowly raised the arm of her patient, "You kill me, your friend dies because you killed his only chance of living." The man's whole body shuddered, "I'm doing everything I can to save him," She said calmly. The officers carefully moved in behind the man, "Officers, stand down. We're at a very delicate part of the procedure," Ivy said while flawlessly maintaining her cool, "Would you please escort this young man to the waiting area where I'll deliver his friend's status once the operation is complete?"

The calmness in her voice was chilling to the officers, the worked up gang member, and even to her medical associates. But, the officers did as they were told as Ivy nodded to her associates, "Party's over folks, let's get this boy's life off death's doorstep and back on its feet."

In spite of her age and nearly fragile appearance, Ivy had a powerful and overwhelming knack for holding her own. Adam Taurus' lieutenant once entered the room and demanded Ivy stop working on another member of Sienna Khan's faction who also held the rank of lieutenant. In a hauntingly serious, yet deathly calm tone, Ivy set the lieutenant straight and had him up against a wall pale in the face without a trace of masculinity coursing through his body. The officers were horrified at the fact that Ivy could talk him down without so much as an insult, a threat, or even so much as an act of physical contact, followed by a spine chillingly sweet smile and a "Thank you for understanding," from the young woman.

Ivy may have been able to terrify the living daylights out of a hulking brute with words alone, but she never laid a finger on anyone in malice or anger. She was a woman dedicated to healing the sick but never hesitated to be a derailing factor for those with malicious intent. She was a big sister as well as a mother figure outside of her life, fighting tooth and nail while cradling a delicate life in her own hands. She was one of the best in the county at getting results that mattered to all parties involved and was exceptionally modest about it.

In spite of her financial success, she decided not to exploit her well-deserved pay with extravagance and questionable indulgences. She was a doctor second and a big sister first, making time for her only surviving sibling at every chance she could. She loved Cy, but only as his big sister and primary guardian. She held custody over him in the way a loving mother would. Making sure Cy got all of his school work done, that he was never left unattended in times of emergency, and that he had a balanced life that she could accept.

There was one variable that she recently couldn't shake. The mysterious "homeless" girl with silver eyes whom her little brother brought into their house the night before and saw out that morning when he thought everyone else was asleep. She knew that it was to be expected from a boy Cy's age to start showing interest in girls, but she'd hoped it would be someone she knew. The only girls who Cy every talked about were Winter, Luna, Nora, and the Malachite sisters. Melanie and Miltiades Malachite were both ruled out immediately. Luna and Nora showed interest in Cy as more the comfort and game night fun type of friends, they were always by his side when Cy and Ivy's family were taken from them by a tragic event that neither surviving sibling felt comfortable about bringing up. Surprisingly enough, Luna and Nora came out to Ivy with the fact that they both felt comfortable around Cy, so comfortable that they would occasionally sandwich him in a tight hug. Nora even went so far as to say she'd invite Cy and Luna to her prom as her dates. "I kinda love both of 'em equally. Luna's my permanent girlfriend, and Cy's the only guy who I've ever shown any interest in."

Then there was Winter Schnee II, the heiress to the country's most successful electric company. When she and Cy were kids, Ivy used to babysit them when Winter's father, Grau Schnee, would head out on business trips to oversee new ventures as far out as other countries. The friendship between Winter and Cy started almost immediately and they were as thick as thieves with the addition of Cy's best friend Azure Aquio. When they got older, Cy asked the heiress if she'd like to go out on a date. Winter blushed and responded, "Cy, that's really sweet. But, I was hoping Auzre would ask me out." Cy was heartbroken until the heiress hugged him, "But if you ever want to, I'd like to go out with you and Azure. I mean we're still kids, after all. And I couldn't imagine ever having a good time without you there to have fun too. But, promise me you won't tell anyone about my crush on Azure. Pinkie promise," She said holding out her hand.

Cy gulped, "Okay, I pinkie promise not to tell him or anyone else."

Of course the secret became obvious to everyone who saw Azure and Winter together. Where the heiress' lips were sealed, her body language was like an opera and Ivy couldn't help but feel amused by her display.

The only other girl Cy ever talked about was a know-it-all girl in Miss Nikos' class named Rosette Le Fluer. Rosette and Cy weren't exactly friends, they were more friendly rivals who respected each other to the point that they'd agree to be against the Malachite sisters.

Ruby, the mystery variable in Cy's life. Mysterious, pretty, pale-skinned, black haired, silver-eyed, the very epitome of innocence, and above all else a concern to be raised in Ivy's mind that made her big sister sense go into overdrive. "I've got to talk to Cy when he gets home." She said, "There's something that he's not telling me."

Umbra and Cy rounded the corner and headed to the apartment building where Cy lived. "You do realize that Ivy's gonna wanna know about your mysterious vampire friend, little dude." Umbra said.

Cy huffed, "Yeah, and that's what I'm afraid of."

"I'll tell her my opinion of Ruby," Umbra said, "Hopefully she'll hold off on digging too deep into asking who Ruby really is."

"If Ivy does ask about Ruby," Cy responded, "I'll have to coax Ruby into telling her everything."

"If anyone can do that without raising any serious red flags, it's you my man." Umbra smiled. They continued through the doors of the building, greeted Mr. Viridian, and headed to the elevator to Cy's floor.

There was a knock on Ivy's door. "That must be Umbra and Cy," She said. "Time to get some answers," She headed to the door, "I'm coming." She said before opening the door.

"Good evening, ma'am," Umbra said, "does this little dude belong to you?"

Ivy shook her head and tried to restrain her laughter, "Umbra Obsidia, that is the corniest opening line I've ever heard from you."

"That's what I was going for, Ivy," Umbra said, "Also don't worry, I took him to dinner. Geoff and Griffon said their sorry you missed them."

"Any news on Griffon's cousin," Ivy asked.

"Doing fine," Umbra said, "thanks to you."

Ivy sighed thankfully, "That's good. Okay Cy, go get your stuff ready for school tomorrow."

"Okay Ivy," Cy nodded as he headed to his room, "night Umbra."

"Night young dude," Umbra replied.

When Ivy heard the door close she turned to Umbra and asked, "Did you get anything out of him on Ruby?"

Umbra nodded, "Better than that, she went to dinner with us."

"How did that go," Ivy inquired.

"Well, she told us some stuff about her, like how she became homeless," Umbra huffed, "she's had it pretty rough. Family issue made her sister drive her away. Then something happened that took her mom, dad, and sister from her. Since then she's been alone."

Ivy's eyes widened, "Oh my god, and I've been so judgmental about her."

"Hey, she's not a bad kid," Umbra put and arm around her, "she's just got a lot of pain in her life. I mean she spent a lot of time wandering from place to place until she found Vale. She just wants a place to call her own."

Ivy blinked and smiled, "I hope she can find a place like that."

Umbra smiled, "After last night, I think she has."

* * *

Ruby sat in her room, thoughts from earlier in the evening flowed through her mind. Eating dinner with Umbra and Cypress was an unexpected yet enjoyable luxury, a luxury she felt benefited her more than anything else. Such luxury quelled more painful thoughts that flooded her mind, but as she came to learn, such luxuries would be doomed to be stripped away from her and be replaced with nothing but regret, loneliness, and heartache. She may have been one thousand fifteen years of age, but there was one thing she never got over, it was the pain of separation.

"I'll have to prepare just in case," Ruby said, "twenty years of living in the middle of a big city like this… I guess it really was too good to be true."

She got up and decided to gather a few things together. Mainly she gathered a bag of clothes to take with her and a book or two. She felt something hold her back, a deep pain from deep in her chest. She balled herself up in the fetal position and pounded her fist against the floor. She didn't want to leave Vale, more than anything she wanted to stay. She threw the bag across the house and into the basement, "No," She screamed, "I'm not doing this. I'm sick of running, I'm sick of the hurt, I'm sick of losing everyone I care about. I'm seeing this path through to the end." She picked up all the clothes she packed in the bag and put them back in her room. "It's been at least one hundred years since the days I was hunted." Ruby said, "There are those who seem to like vampires now. There are even those who don't hold tightly to the same laws that caused people to hunt me down before. I guess I need to slowly start settling in." She sniffed her clothes and snuggled in their warmth. "I may want to look into finding some way to modernize this old place. I mean the base wiring is still intact, I just need to find some way of getting electricity pumped through it." She sighed, "But for that I'd need school, I can't do that if I'm confined to walking the night. Ugh, this is harder than I thought. I need some air."

* * *

Cy had just finished getting ready for bed. "I hope Ruby won't be too cold tonight," He said to himself.

He sat down on his bed and lay down on his back, "Let's see, I've got no classes with Melanie tomorrow, that's Tuesday. I've got all the things I need for my classes in my backpack, check. Luna, Winter, and I have lunch together, I've got my payment for my lunch account. What have I got to worry about tomorrow afternoon?" He stood up with his hands behind his back and paced back and forth across the length of her bed. "I've got studying with Azure in the library so we can pass Mr. Lazuli's class on Wednesday. That shouldn't be a problem with Miss Scarletina as librarian."

"Thinking of your plan of attack?" Ivy asked poking in through the door.

Cy was stirred from his train of thought. Pacing about was normally how he did this, but Ivy'd never seen him pace on the top of his bed like this before. "Yeah, sorry," Cy blushed.

"So, Umbra told me a little about Ruby," Ivy said, "That she lives mainly in the Inner City Forest." Cy nodded his head somberly, "He also said that if you know anything more, you'll let Ruby tell us all when she's ready."

Cy smiled, "Thanks for not over reacting, sis."

"I was going to, before Umbra told me it was better not to do anything stupid," Ivy said sitting on Cy's bed.

"I guess Umbra's more of an understanding sort than we thought," Cy smiled sitting next to his sister.

"Well, he does look after you kids when everyone else is busy," Ivy smiled.

"If you call taking us to work with him and helping Mr. Tukson at the book shop looking after us," Cy chuckled.

"You and I both know that Mr. Tukson appreciates the hard work that everyone does," Ivy said, "You and Azure help organize the inventory and shelve the books. Nora and Luna are incredible with their management of the store's café. Winter helps people with book selections. You kids are easily the best help that Tukson's Book Trade has ever had. I worked there to help pay off my text books when I went off to med school, and I had to double up on my responsibilities more than once."

Cy smiled and gave a yawn, "I guess you're right, sis." He slowly crawled under his sheets.

"I hope all goes well for you tomorrow, little brother," Ivy said as she tucked her brother in.

* * *

Ruby left her home and decided to take a walk through the woods to clear her head. The air was cold, but it didn't matter to her. As she went through the abandoned streets of the old inner city, she thought of the last few days and what they'd revealed to her. She'd become fond of Cypress and his friends, though the boy himself was still a veritable conundrum in her mind, she could never get a good read on his thoughts or motives. She felt herself becoming deeply enraptured with finding out more about the boy. Her instincts told her to take what she wanted without asking, but her human side which she preserved for centuries told her that she needed to hold off on asking about what he was hiding.

She came to the top of an old parking complex, her favorite spot to lay back and gaze at the stars and clear her head. Every time she came to the seven story building, she felt homesick. Her island home from a millennium prior had one of the best views of the stars, but not the same stars as could be seen in the city of Vale. This place was where she liked to come when she needed to do serious thinking, where she could sit alone with her thoughts and a host of stars. "Do I leave and start over again," She inquired as she lay on her back, "or do I stay and at least try to build an actual life with those humans as my friends?" The silence broke as a leaf fell from the trees above her and landed right on the vampire's forehead. Ruby took the leaf by its stem and examined it, "It looks like autumn is coming." She sat up and further examined the leaf further, "I guess I'm staying," A small smile curved across her face, "Although, I think that's for the best. I've grown quite accustomed to this place…" She blushed a lightly, "… and fond of teasing Cypress so relentlessly."

She stood up, "Then it's decided," She looked up at the bejeweled heavens with confidence, "No more running. Patch is gone," A tear ran down her pale cheek, "Vale is my home."

* * *

 **A/N: Took a month break to do some thinking and try to get my life pointed in the right direction. I know I do that a lot, it's just for me the weather effects my mood and motivation, and it's been rainy and dreary a lot lately and as a result, my productivity has been sapped. But I'm tanned, rested, and ready to update more regularly now. Though I am worried about Hurricane Irma churning just off the East Coast, but that's something I have until Sunday to worry about. I'll have Melting the Ice updated ASAP and another Rose Wolf one-shot out soon too (haven't done one of those in a while), needless to say I'll be very bust these next few weeks, but I'll get it done. Until then, let me know what you think so far, if you feel so compelled to do so. Remember, reviews aren't mandatory, but are appreciated.**

 **See you next time,**

 **~Cluny**


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